The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday issued an alert against a fake drug, DEFITELIO (defibrotide), which was allegedly sold in India and Turkey.
“This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to one falsified batch of DEFITELIO (defibrotide sodium). This falsified product has been detected in India (April 2023) and Türkiye (July 2023) and was supplied outside of regulated and authorized channels,” the global health agency said in a statement.
According to WHO, the drug is indicated for the treatment of severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) also known as sinusoidal obstructive syndrome (SOS) in haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) therapy.
It is indicated for adults, adolescents, children and infants over 1 month of age. VOD is a condition in which the veins in the liver become blocked and stop the liver working correctly, the UN body revealed.
Moreover, WHO also stated that the genuine manufacturer of the drug has confirmed that the product referenced in this Alert is falsified.
“The genuine manufacturer has advised that: Genuine DEFITELIO with Lot 20G20A was packaged in German/Austrian packaging.The falsified products instead are in UK/Ireland packaging. The stated expiry date is falsified and does not comply with the registered shelf life. The stated serial number is not associated with batch 20G20A. The drug does not have marketing authorization in India and Türkiye.”
Moreover, WHO has previously issued Alerts for falsified DEFITELIO detected in other Countries and Regions.
According to the Global Health Agency, the use of falsified DEFITELIO will result in the ineffective treatment of patients and may pose other serious risks to health because of its intravenous administration and could be life-threatening in some circumstances.
It also highlighted that it is currently unaware aware of any reports of adverse events following the use of this reported falsified DEFITELIO, “however, the safety, sterility, and quality of the falsified products referenced in this alert are unknown.”
“Healthcare professionals should report the incident to the National Regulatory Authorities/National Pharmacovigilance Centre. National regulatory/health authorities are advised to immediately notify WHO if they identify these falsified products,” it added.
