Botox and fake Sustanon lead Anvisa to issue an alert – 06/22/2023 – Health

Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) released a note this Thursday (22) to warn about the existence in the market of counterfeit versions of the drugs Botox, Dysport and Sustanon.

On Wednesday, the agency published a resolution ordering the seizure and prohibition of the sale, distribution and use of counterfeit units of the drugs Botox️ (batch: C3709C3) and Sustanon (batch: 701012LR).

Already this Thursday (22), another resolution determined the seizure and ban on the marketing, distribution and use of counterfeit units of batch W07209 of the product Dysport️.

Counterfeiting follows the same pattern. The counterfeiter uses the product’s original batch number, but changes the manufacture and expiration dates.

The manufacturing date of the original batch of Botox is 09/2014 and the expiration date is 08/2017. The counterfeit product bears the same batch number, but its manufacturing date appears as 05/2022 and the expiry date, as 05/2025. Another detail is that this batch was not sent to the Brazilian market by the company Allergan Produtos Farmacêuticos. The discovery of this case occurred during a police operation that found counterfeit Botox️ packaging.

In the case of Dysport 300U, which is a botulinum toxin, the falsification communication was made by the company that owns the registration, Beaufour Ipsen Farmacêutica.

The original batch W07209 was imported in April 2022, with a manufacturing date of 01/2022 and an expiration date of 12/2023. The counterfeit product has a manufacturing date of 01/2023 and expiration date of 12/2024.

“The company also described several existing differences between the original product and the counterfeit one. Discrepancies were verified in the type of flask, in the quality of the printing on the label and in the volume of product in the flask”, says the note from Anvisa.

The falsification of Sustanon was also communicated to Anvisa by the company Aspen Pharma Indústria Farmacêutica Ltda, which holds the registration of the product.

The original batch was manufactured on 01/2021 and valid until 01/2023. However, counterfeit units have a manufacturing date of 06/2022 and expiration date of 06/2024.

In the statement, Anvisa advises that the population and health professionals only purchase medicines in regularized establishments, always in the complete package (inside the box) and by issuing the invoice.

“In case of identification of units of drugs suspected of being counterfeit, the population or health professionals should not use the product and should contact the companies that hold the registration of these products, to verify their authenticity”, says the note.