ASHENEWS reports that the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued a public alert over the circulation of two counterfeit batches of Avastin 400mg/16ml, an anticancer medication manufactured by Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Germany.
According to NAFDAC, the counterfeit batches, identified as H0223B08 and H4239A70 were flagged following reports from healthcare professionals in Kano and Abuja.
The batch H0223B08 was purchased by a patient from a pharmacy in Kano and had previously been highlighted in an earlier alert.
Similarly, the Federal Medical Center in Abuja reported the counterfeit batch H4239A70.
NAFDAC noted that while no batch tracing was possible for Avastin 400mg/16ml with batch no H4239A70 as this is not a genuine Roche product and the batch number doesn’t exist in their database.
According to NAFDAC, Avastin 400mg/16ml is widely used in treating various cancers, including colon, rectum, lung, kidney, brain, ovarian, and cervical cancers.
“Counterfeit versions of the medication pose significant health risks, including poisoning, treatment failure, and compromised drug efficacy due to the presence of incorrect, insufficient, or harmful ingredients,” the agency warned.
NAFDAC has urged importers, distributors, retailers, and consumers to exercise vigilance and ensure that medical products are sourced only from authorized suppliers.
It also warned anyone in possession of these counterfeit batches to stop using or selling them immediately and report them to the nearest NAFDAC office.
