FDA warns public against fake Alaxan FR, Medicol Advance, Buscopan, Kremil-S, and Loperamide

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning to healthcare professionals and to the public on Thursday against the purchase and use of verified counterfeit medicine brands.

According to FDA, health professionals and the public must be vigilant about the rampant sale of fake drug products because of the possible harmful health effects it may cause. The public is advised to only purchase medicines from FDA-licensed drugstores and retailers to assure the authenticity of the products. Pharmaceutical company Unilab also shared tips on how to spot fake medicines from authentic ones.

As per Advisory No.2022-1615, FDA shared photos comparing authentic tablets with counterfeit or fake ones of the following drug products:

Ibuprofen/ Paracetamol (Alaxan® FR) 200 mg/ 325 mg Capsule

How to spot fake Alaxan® FR Capsules

Below are physical characteristics you should be checking to know if your Alaxan FR capsules are authentic:

• Capsule appearance
  • Fake capsules appear paler than the actual color
• Foil color
  • Authentic Alaxan FR blister packs come in bright orange color. Fake Alaxan FR capsules have a paler foil color.
• Unilab Seal Mark
  • The Unilab seal watermark should be rendered as a watermark and can only be seen at certain angles. In fake capsules, the seal of Unilab is clearly visible and appears sark.

Ibuprofen (Medicol® Advance) 200 mg Softgel Capsule

How to spot fake Medicol® Advance softgel capsules

Below are physical characteristics you should be checking to know if your Medicol® Advance softgel capsules are authentic:

• Capsule appearance
  • Authentic Medicol Advance capsules are dark red in color and oblong-shaped. Fake capsules are bright red and spherical and triangularly shaped.
• Foil text
  • The foil elements of authentic softgel capsules are horizontally aligned while fake capsules’ foil elements are vertically aligned and appear bright red in color.
• Expiry date
  • In authentic capsules, the expiry month is in letter format (ex. January 2022, February 2022, etc.) while in fake capsule, the month is in number format (01/2022, 02/2022).
• Foil pattern
  • For authentic capsules, the foil has a diamond pattern, while fake capsules are housed in foil with a dotted pattern.

Hyoscine N-Butylbromide (Buscopan®) 10mg Tablet

According to FDA, batch numbers in counterfeit Buscopan tablets are not valid and the appearance is not comparable with the standard features of the registered product.

Aluminum Hydroxide / Magnesium Hydroxide / Simeticone (Kremil-S®) 178 mg / 233 mg / 30 mg Chewable Tablet

How to spot fake Kremil-S tablets

Below are physical characteristics you should be checking to know if your Kremil-S chewable tablets are authentic:

• Tablet color
  • Fake Kremi-S tablets are light pink in color
• Tablet engraving
  • Fake tablets have deeper engraving on the tablet than the authentic ones
• Foil color
  • The foil color of fake Kremil-S tablets has a darker pink color than the authentic tablets
• Print appearance
  • The print appearance on the foil of fake Kremil-S tablets appears darker and bolder than authentic foil tablets.

Loperamide Hydrochloride (Diatabs®) 2 mg Capsule

How to spot fake Diatabs Capsules

Below are physical characteristics you should be checking to know if your Diatabs® capsules are authentic:

• Foil pattern
  • The foil pattern of fake Diatabs capsules has bigger square patterns. Authentic capsules should be housed in foil with a finer square pattern.
• Capsule color
  • The colors of a fake Loperamide capsule have a big difference from the authentic one. Fake Loperamide capsules are dark green/purple-gray in color.
• Unilab logo
  • The Unilab logo in fake Loperamide capsules have a lighter green color than the actual logo found in authentic capsules.

Loperamide Hydrochloride (Imodium) 2 mg Capsule

According to FDA, the blister pattern and embossed batch details are not comparable with the standard features of the registered product.

RELATED: FDA Warns Public of Fake Biogesic and Bioflu Tablets; Here’s How to Spot Fake Paracetamol

Verify and Report

FDA also warned establishments against purchasing, distributing, and selling counterfeit products, which is a violation of RA 9711 or the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009 and RA 8203 or the Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs.

FDA and Unilab advise their customers to report sellers of fake Bioflu and Biogesic tablets in the market through the following channels:

• Unilab Hotline and Email
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Landline: (02) 8-864522-1
• FDA Hotline and Email
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Center for Drug Regulation and Research: (02) 8-809-5596

SOURCES: FDA, Unilab