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Your Anemia Drug May Be A Fake

Hospitals and pharmacies may have unknowingly bought a counterfeit version of the anti-anemia drug Procrit — and the useless product also is contaminated with bacteria, the government warned Tuesday.

The fake Procrit poses a serious danger to patients, the Food and Drug Administration said. Health workers and patients should very carefully examine vials of Procrit to see if they have the fake version, the FDA said. Do not use the counterfeit version.

FDA has identified three batches of fake drug. They bear the following lot numbers and expiration dates:

  • P007645, expiration 10-2004
  • P004677, expiration 02-2004
  • P004389, expiration 02-2004
Also, consumers should check for differences on the packaging and vials, said manufacturer Ortho Biotech Products. The aluminum seal on a vial of real Procrit is smooth, not dented. The closure seals on the outer carton of real Procrit have writing on the underside and leave a residue when peeled away.

To help identify the dangerous counterfeit, Ortho Biotech posted pictures of the real and fake version on its Web site: www.procrit.com.

Procrit, known chemically as epoetin alpha, is an important anemia treatment for patients with cancer and other serious diseases.

The three fake batches, discovered by FDA investigators, consist of a clear liquid that contains no medication. Going untreated is danger enough, but the FDA also discovered the counterfeit batches are tainted with at least two types of bacteria — posing a risk of infection in already seriously weakened patients.

Anyone who has vials of counterfeit Procrit should quarantine them and call FDA — 1-800-835-4709 — or Ortho Biotech — 1-800-325-7504 — so that investigators can examine them.

Once a problem mainly in developing countries, counterfeit medicine is increasingly turning up in the United States. In the last year, the FDA has investigated more than half a dozen counterfeit drug cases, including a previous case of diluted Procrit.

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