14ymedio, Havana, 9 August 2024 — At least three counterfeit drugs circulate in Cuba without health control, the Island’s authorities have warned. The 20-milligram Domperidone tablets and two other anti-arthritis products – which caused alarm in 2018 and 2023 in Colombia – are on the blacklist of the Center for the State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED).
The Domperidone tablets, from the Canadian company Apotex Inc., advertised as “analgesic and anti-inflammatory,” circulate illegally. They have been detected on the Island because they are not listed in the Canadian health system, where they supposedly originated. The complaint was made based on “photographic evidence,” thanks to which CECMED concluded on July 6 that the DIN code 01940309 that is on the Domperidone package “does not exist.”
“It is a counterfeit drug, so its quality, safety and efficacy cannot be guaranteed,” stressed the Cuban agency.
The 10 mg S-ARTRIT Plus and DolorEnd 10 mg pills are also sold without authorization. Both products are attributed to Homeopathic Natural Laboratories of Cuba. However, CECMED warned on July 24 that these “drugs” against arthritis are not registered in their database, in addition to the fact that “there is no pharmaceutical laboratory with that name” on the packaging.
In 2018, the National Institute of Drug and Food Surveillance (INVIMA) of Colombia denounced the fraudulent commercialization of that same drug in the country, under the name of DolorEnd Forte.
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The same occurs with the S-ARTRIT Plus anti-arthritis product. Invima warned on August 1, 2023 about the illegal marketing of Sin Artrit Forte – formerly Artrit LX – a product “without health records,” whose “active principle is procaine hydrochloride,” which is not recognized for use in Colombia. It arrived in Cuba with the name of S-ARTRIT Plus.
The sale of fake medicines and alternative products once again show the shortage of drugs that plagues the Island. The black market has become the main unlicensed supplier of Cubans, and now even virtual stores that supply Cubans with products purchased in the United States in dollars, offer medications. Some even request a prescription issued on the Island to deliver the products, not because they are admitted in that country, but to avoid of the risks of selling powerful drugs like antibiotics without a prescription.
Last July, the Ministry of Public Health admitted that, due to obstacles in the import of raw materials and already prepared medicines, the country lacks 70% of the basic medications needed by Cuban patients. The figure is imprecise: of the 651 products that should be sold in pharmacies, only 292 are available, and intermittently at that.
The regime, which has one of its main foreign exchange inflows in the medical-pharmaceutical industry, has sought help abroad to revive the sector, which was battered after dedicating all its funds to the development of vaccines against COVID-19. Last Thursday, the Government of India delivered 10,000,000 euros to Cuba, which were destined for the purchase of “active pharmaceutical ingredients.”
This Friday, the ‘March 8’ pharmaceutical company resumed the production of oral antibiotics and increased the capacity for injectables, reported director Xenia Madrazo Sagre. With the restart of those operations, “amoxicillin, cephalexin and cefixime will be produced, the latter in capsules and in suspension, and the injectables ceftriaxone, cefuroxime and ceftazidime,” the director confirmed. However, the first delivery will take 45 days, since the raw materials must go through a physical, chemical and microbiological analysis and then enter production, the official stressed.
The production of these drugs will cover the demand of the National Health System for six to 12 months, depending on the assortment.
14ymedio has documented that, due to the lack of drugs, Cubans constantly turn to the black market in search of antidepressants, tranquilizers and analgesics in improvised pharmacies on all kinds of premises. In these places, which range from a restaurant to a clothing store, the cost per blister pack can reach 1,000 pesos.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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