COVID-19: NAFDAC Raises Alarm over Fake Chloroquine Products in Circulation

Femi Ashekun/

The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted Nigerians to the circulation of nine fake chloroquine products in some African countries.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries had approved the use of chloroquine for emergency treatment of patients, while NAFDAC has also consented to its use for clinical trial treatment of the infection.

The agency in a statement it shared on Twitter via @NafdacAgency, said the counterfeited products do not contain the correct amount of “active pharmaceutical ingredient”.

It further states that the manufacturers’ names stated on the labels of the fake products are non-existent, while their batch numbers, manufacturing and expiry dates do not correspond to genuine manufacturing records.

The agency also published a list of the falsified products.

It added that the use of these products might result in treatment failure and possible death.

Read statement below:

Public Alert No. 005/2020. Alert on Falsified Chloroquine Products Circulating in WHO Region of Africa.

The nine (9) falsified Chloroquine products do not contain the correct amount of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). They were not manufactured by the manufacturers whose names are stated on the product labels.

The batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates on the falsified products do not correspond to genuine manufacturing records. The manufacturers whose names are stated on the falsified product labels do not exist.

The use of falsified Chloroquine products may result in treatment failure and even death.

Genuine Chloroquine registered by NAFDAC is used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and extraintestinal amebiasis.

Importers, wholesalers and retailers are implored to desist from importation, distribution and sale of the falsified Chloroquine products. Any importer, wholesaler, retailer caught dealing with falsified chloroquine or any other falsified medicines will be severely sanctioned.

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