FDA confirms fake albumin and anti-rabies serum from two Davao City establishments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that three counterfeit drug products were collected this year from two establishments in Davao City, according to SunStar. These were two lots of human albumin and one lot of anti-rabies serum.

Eba Marie Antonette Inis, officer-in-charge director II of the FDA Mindanao East Cluster, disclosed the findings at a Department of Health (DOH) media engagement on Friday, October 30, at the DOH Davao Center for Health Development. The event came ahead of the National Consciousness Week Against Counterfeit Medicines in the third week of November.

Across the Davao Region, Inis said five products from four establishments have been confirmed as counterfeit. She noted that these were only the samples that tested positive, as more products had been submitted for testing, and that fuller figures are still being consolidated.

The Davao City products she identified were Albumin (Human) USP 25% Albuminar-25, 50mL, Lot Nos. NGC826348 and PRT279082, and Anti-Rabies Serum (Equine) (Equirab) 200 IU/mL, 5mL vial, Lot No. A06825016. Human albumin is used to restore blood volume in emergencies and treat low albumin levels, while anti-rabies serum is given after severe exposures such as bites.

In earlier advisories, the FDA said Albuminar is no longer manufactured by CSL Behring and that its last batch supplied to the country expired in September 2022. It also warned that the counterfeit Equirab batch has an authentic counterpart on the market. Both advisories said the fakes pose serious health risks and that sellers will be penalized.

Inis said counterfeit cases in Davao City have decreased from past years, with many seizures made during the 2021 to 2022 pandemic period. She said investigators trace products beyond retailers to their sources.

She pointed to unusually low prices as a warning sign, citing anti-rabies vaccines normally priced above P1,000 being offered at P600. Other red flags include untranslated foreign labels, spelling errors, "FDA approved" claims or FDA logos on packaging, and cracked, discolored or crystallizing tablets.

Inis advised against buying medicines from sari-sari stores or purely online pharmacies, which the FDA does not license. "I'm urging everyone to please buy medicines only from FDA-licensed drug stores," she said, adding that suspected fakes can be reported anonymously through the FDA website.