National Drug Authority impounds fake cancer drugs on Ugandan market

National Drug Authority (NDA) has impounded packages of unregistered and counterfeit cancer medicines that are being sold on the Ugandan Market.

The drugs include Avastin (bevacizumab), a first line drug in the treatment of ovarian cancer and Sutent (sunitinib malate), a medicine often used to treat progressive tumors of the digestive system, the pancreas, and the kidneys. The drug interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.

Although the genuine Sutent drug is supplied only as hard gelatin capsules, the fake product is presented as bluish - grey tablets, according to the NDA warning. The genuine Sutent drug is manufactured by Pfizer, a U.S based Drugs Company. However, the counterfeit is labeled as made in Sweden.

Similarly, the Avastin drug which is supplied as an injection for intravenous,  has been counterfeited and presented as bluish-grey tablets.  The genuine drug is manufactured by Roche, a pharmaceutical firm based in Germany and Switzerland while the counterfeit Avastin, is labeled as made in Sweden.

"The containers for both drugs claimed to be "Made in Sweden AstraZeneca 2014," The statement by NDA  shows.  AstraZeneca is a UK based firm which recently sold its antibiotics business to Pfizer.

However, containers of the counterfeit products have wrong spellings of the name AstraZeneca in some places spelt as "AstraZenaca" and group as "grroup". Astrazeneca and Turbuhaler are trademarks of Astrazeneca group of companies.

-URN