A medical product alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) says that two batches of falsified remdesivir injection 100mg/20ml (5mg/ml) were found at the patient level (including at a hospital) in Mexico and were illicitly supplied on the internet. The batches were reported to the WHO in July 2021.
The WHO said Gilead Sciences, the product’s developer, has confirmed that the remdesivir products are falsified and were not manufactured by the company.
Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication that was approved or authorized for emergency use to treat COVID-19 in several countries. In November 2020, WHO updated a conditional recommendation against remdesivir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
The composition of the vials is currently unknown, and laboratory analyses are to be conducted. The vials are:
· Batch EN2005A2-B: the batch number and the expiry date (06/2023) do not correspond to any remdesivir manufactured by Gilead.
· Batch EN2009D7-Q: the batch number does not correspond to any remdesivir manufactured by Gilead.
