Month: February 2025
Recall Alert: Substandard Products Declared By Provincial Drug Testing Laboratories.
Recall Alert
| DRAP Alert No | No I/S/01-25-16 |
| Action Date | 7th January 2025. |
| Target Audience | – National Regulatory Field Force. – Pharmacists and Chemists in Distribution, Pharmacies and Medical Stores – Healthcare Professionals – Physicians, Pharmacists, and Nurses at hospitals and clinics – General Public |
| Problem / Issue | Directorate of Drug Control (DDC) Punjab has informed DRAP that samples of below product have been reported as substandard due to the presence of impurities by the Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) Lahore. |
Therapeutic Goods (s) Affected: –
| Product Names | Composition | Batch Details | Manufactured by |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMLOShine 10mg | (Amlodipine 10mg) | Batch No. 7180 | Sunshine Pharmaceuticals, Khan Payara, Near Saim Nala, Eimanabad road, Gujranwala |
| Bytec tablet | (Cetrizine 2HCl 10mg) | Batch No. E088 | Batala Pharmaceuticals, 23/B Small Industrial Estate #2, Gujranwala |
| Risk Statement: | Use of substandard products can lead to therapy failure, which can increase chances of complications in susceptible users including immunocompromised patients, pediatric and geriatric populations. |
| Action Initiated | – The regulatory field force of DRAP and Provincial Drug Control departments has been directed to immediately conduct market surveys for detection and removal of these products from the market. – All pharmacists and chemists working at distributors and pharmacies should immediately check their stocks and stop supplying these products. The remaining stocks should be quarantined, and the information of their supplier should be immediately provided to their area drug inspector to ensure the removal of falsified product. –Distributors and pharmacies are advised to be vigilant and report any suspected batch of the product(s) in the supply chain to the DRAP using the online form, or by Email at gsms∂dra.gov.pk. –Regulatory field force of all federating units (DRAP, Provincial Health Departments, and States) has also increased the surveillance in the market to ensure the effective recall of defective product(s). |
| Advice for Healthcare Professionals | DRAP requests to enhance vigilance within the supply chains of institutions/pharmacies/healthcare facilities likely to be affected by this defective batch of the product. -Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with this product may be reported to the National Pharmacovigilance Centre(NPC), DRAP using the Adverse Event Reporting Form or online through this link. -Please click here for further information on problem reporting to DRAP. |
| Advice for Consumers | -Consumers should stop using these product bearing the affected batch number(s). They shall contact their physician or healthcare provider(s) if they have experienced any problem that may be related to using this product. -All therapeutic products must be obtained from authorized licensed pharmacies /outlets. Their authenticity and condition should be carefully checked. If you have any doubts, please seek advice from your pharmacist. |
Rapid Alert: Crackdown Against Falsified Products
Rapid Alert
| DRAP Alert No | No I/S/02-25-15 |
| Action Date | 7th January, 2025 |
| Target Audience | 1· National Regulatory Field Force of DRAP and Provincial Drug Control Departments 2· Healthcare Professionals (Physicians, Pharmacists & Nurses) 3. General Public |
| Problem Statement | Provincial Government Analyst, Drug Testing Laboratory Karachi has informed DRAP that samples below product has been identified as spurious (falsified): |
The product identification details are as under:
Therapeutic goods affected:
| Product | Batch No* | Mfg Date | Exp. Date | Manufacturer Name (as per label) | Remarks |
| Evosef 250mg capsule (Cephradine 250mg) | HF-001 | Purported to be manufactured by East Pharmaceutical 19-Km Sheikhupura road, Lahore | Spurious. Cephradine not identified | ||
| Tramaking-225 Mega tablet (Tramadol HCl 225mg) | TRD2002 | Name of Manufacturer not mentioned | Spurious |
| Risk Statement: | Falsified products having no active ingredient or identification of manufacturer pose a great risk to the health of patient and can cause adverse drug reactions or may lead to therapy failure that can result in fatal consequences. |
| Action Initiated | The Regulatory field force has been directed to conduct surveillance activities throughout the supply chain to confiscate the counterfeit product. All Pharmacists, chemists, and other healthcare professionals working at distributions, pharmacies, healthcare facilities, and other aspects of the supply chain system should immediately check the stock, and information related to the supplier of such product should be provided to the Regulatory field force (DRAP, Provincial Drug Control Departments) to ensure the removal of this product from the circulation. |
| Advice for Healthcare Professionals | All pharmacists and chemist working at distributions and pharmacies should immediately check their stocks and stop supplying mentioned products. The remaining stocks should be quarantined and returned to the supplier/company. Regulatory field force of all federating units (DRAP and Provincial Health Departments) are advised to increase surveillance in the market to ensure the effective removal of this products. Any adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of these products should be reported to National or Provincial pharmacovigilance centers using Adverse Event Reporting Form or online through this link. Further information on reporting problems to DRAP is available at this link. |
| Advice for Consumer | Consumers in possession of mentioned batches should immediately report to Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan and contact to their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product and report the same to DRAP through Adverse Event Reporting Form or online through this link. |
Rapid Alert: Presence of Counterfeit and Trademark Infringement Case of Laroscorbine Platinum Injection in the Market
Rapid Alert
| DRAP Alert No | No I/S/02-25-14 |
| Action Date | 4th February, 2025 |
| Target Audience | 1· National Regulatory Field Force of DRAP and Provincial Drug Control Departments 2· Healthcare Professionals (Physicians, Pharmacists & Nurses) 3. General Public |
| Problem Statement | M/s Roche Pakistan Limited, Karachi, has notified DRAP, regarding the sale of counterfeit ‘Laroscorbine Platinum Injection’ in the market across Pakistan. According to the principal, Roche manufactured and marketed Laroscorbine until 2005. In that year, Roche sold the product and brand to Bayer AG. Therefore, any Laroscorbine offered for sale, and which is labeled with the Roche logo or which claims that it was manufactured or marketed by Roche, is not a genuine Roche product. Further informed that as the product does not belong to Roch portfolio, tracing of the lot is not possible: |
The product identification details are as under:
Therapeutic goods affected:
| Product | Batch No* | Mfg Date | Exp. Date | Manufacturer Name (as per label) | Remarks |
| Laroscorbine Platinum Injection Reg. No. 0326422 | Purported to be manufactured by M/s Roche Pakistan Limited, Karachi. | Spurious |
| Risk Statement: | The use of Laroscorbine Platinum Injection is believed to brighten the skin and maintain skin elasticity. However, the administration of counterfeit productscould result in treatment failure, worsening of the disease, or life threatening consequences |
| Action Initiated | The Regulatory field force has been directed to conduct surveillance activities throughout the supply chain to confiscate the counterfeit product. All Pharmacists, chemists, and other healthcare professionals working at distributions, pharmacies, healthcare facilities, and other aspects of the supply chain system should immediately check the stock, and information related to the supplier of such product should be provided to the Regulatory field force (DRAP, Provincial Drug Control Departments) to ensure the removal of this product from the circulation. |
| Advice for Healthcare Professionals | All pharmacists and chemist working at distributions and pharmacies should immediately check their stocks and stop supplying mentioned products. The remaining stocks should be quarantined and returned to the supplier/company. Regulatory field force of all federating units (DRAP and Provincial Health Departments) are advised to increase surveillance in the market to ensure the effective removal of this products. Any adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of these products should be reported to National or Provincial pharmacovigilance centers using Adverse Event Reporting Form or online through this link. Further information on reporting problems to DRAP is available at this link. |
| Advice for Consumer | Consumers in possession of mentioned batches should immediately report to Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan and contact to their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using this drug product and report the same to DRAP through Adverse Event Reporting Form or online through this link. |