DOH monitoring fake medicine

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The Health Department-Region 6 is now monitoring counterfeit medicines in the wake of reports that 117 boxes of alleged fake medicines were seized by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from seven branches of Sincere Drug Store and at their storage facility in this city last week.

The raids were held at the drugstore’s branches in Burgos, Libertad, Dela Rama Center, Gatuslao, Centroplex and Gonzaga and at the warehouse of the supplier in Purok Dawis in Brgy. 14 Bacolod on June 16, NBI Bacolod chief Jose Ermie Monsanto said.

Ricky Enriquez, owner of the Sincere chain of drug stores, called the raid “harassment and unfair,” saying he will file charges against the raiding team because his medicines came from legitimate suppliers.

Delia Tarrosa, chief of the Licensing, Regulations and Enforcement Division of the DOH-6, said they are putting up an electronic monitoring system in pharmacies to detect if they are purchasing medicines from unauthorized dealers.

She admitted that it is difficult to identify the counterfeit medicines from the authentic ones. Even the DOH could not identify the difference at first glance and have to scrutinize or subject these to laboratory tests first to verify their authenticity, she said.

With the installation of the electronic monitoring systems at the pharmacies, the DOH will have a list of the transactions by the establishment with its suppliers and, if the suppliers are unauthorized, their names will not appear in the system, Tarrosa said. – THE FREEMAN