THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued an urgent alert to healthcare providers and the general public about a suspected counterfeit cancer drug, Phesgo 600mg/600mg/10ml injection, bearing the batch number C5290S20.
This warning follows a report from a doctor at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) who raised concerns about the drug after it was brought in by a patient.
Upon investigation, it was found that this batch closely resembled another previously flagged counterfeit batch, C3809C51.
According to NAFDAC, the drug’s manufacturer, Roche, reviewed images of the suspected product and confirmed it as fake.
Several inconsistencies were detected, including a batch number that does not exist, incorrect language on the packaging, missing tamper-evidence features and labels that did not match those on genuine products.
NAFDAC emphasised that counterfeit medicines pose serious risks to public health because they are unsafe and ineffective.
The statement reads: “The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) wishes to inform healthcare providers and the public of a report of a suspected counterfeit Phesgo® 600mg/600mg/10ml, labelled with batch C5290S20.
“The Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) Roche received a complaint from a doctor at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH-NSIA) reporting a suspected counterfeit Phesgo® 600mg/600mg, labelled with batch C5290S20.
“The product was reported to have been brought in by a patient for administration. It had not been administered at the time of the report, as it matched the previously reported counterfeit batch C3809C51.
“Although no sample was returned to Roche for investigation, only pictures displaying parts of a Phesgo® 600mg/600mg in a 10ml folding box and a labelled vial.
“Images of the suspected product were examined by Roche and compared to the genuine samples retained for reference.
“The investigation identified the following significant differences between the complaint sample pictures and the genuine materials which confirmed the falsified status of the suspected counterfeit batch of Phesgo® 600mg/600mg.”
The agency urged importers, distributors, healthcare workers and consumers to remain vigilant and ensure that medicines are obtained only from authorised sources.
It also called on stakeholders to carefully check the authenticity and condition of all medical products before use.
NAFDAC has directed its zonal directors and state coordinators to launch surveillance operations to remove the counterfeit drug from circulation.