Stores closed over counterfeit drugs, unlicensed pharmacists

CEBU, Philippines - Thirteen establishments including one pharmacy in Mandaue City were padlocked by food and drug authorities for selling counterfeit drugs and operating without a licensed pharmacist.

The Food and Drug Administration in Central Visayas has also disclosed that two establishments in the province of Cebu are considered ‘notorious’ and are facing surveillance operations by personnel of the Regulation and Enforcement Unit   of the said agency in the fight against the proliferation of counterfeit or fake drugs.

Sarah Oriol, FDA officer III, said the 13 establishments padlocked since October include four drugstores from Mandaue and Bohol and two in Iloilo City.

The FDA operation covered Central, Western and Eastern Visayas regions.

Oriol who spoke with the media during the regular Association of Government Information Officers   forum at the Department of Health regional field office on Tuesday, said only one of those padlocked was found to have sold counterfeit drugs while the others did not have a licensed pharmacist.

“But still we can relate this to the other establishments because if there are no licensed pharmacists around, it is possible that the drugstore may have been selling counterfeit or substandard drugs,” she said.

As of October 2015, the agency’s regional team has confirmed 24 prescription drugs which are considered counterfeit. This is aside from 74 suspected counterfeit drugs seized separately by the National Bureau of Investigation.

Oriol said the 74 counterfeit drugs, however, will be turned over to them for further testing.

Counterfeit drugs are those found to contain below 80 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Asked what these common ‘fake’ drugs are, Oroil said these are floucinonide ointments found in Korean stores.

“Notorious” drugstores

Meanwhile, the food and drug agency disclosed that there are two “notorious” drugstores in the province that are on a tight watch.

Oriol is not disclosing the names of the establishments while monitoring is ongoing. A total of 23 establishments are now on a tight watch in the three regions covered by FDA-7.

She said these two firms are being placed on the watch list because they are very brazen in their activities. She said the expiry dates plastered on blister packs of medicines are cut or tampered. Some also reportedly resort to peddling the drugs to sari-sari stores.

Meanwhile, aside from shutting down drugstores, the food and drug agency also sealed drug and cosmetic products at nine establishments due to certain violations.

The ‘sealing’ of the products were done in cases where the entire establishment cannot be padlocked because it is a combination of drugstore and merchandise.

These establishments were found in Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay cities where x-ray machines were ‘sealed’ after it was found out that the establishments were using it even without a licensed radiologic technologist.

Sari-sari stores

Officials admitted there is still a strong likelihood that fake and expired drugs are peddled in sari-sari stores in the city or in rural municipalities.

But Grace Cardona, FDA Officer II, said they have to receive verified reports about this.

She clarified that as much as this is a violation and the law prohibits the selling of prescription drugs outside licensed drugstores and or establishments, consumer vigilance can counter the malpractice.

“We can’t directly penetrate sari-sari stores because it is already outside our jurisdiction since we are not the ones who issue the license to them. But the best that we can do is to urge consumers to increase their vigilance, take responsibility in our action that we have a role to play to this as well, and urge our local government units to help us too,” she said./JMO (FREEMAN)