The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the public of the Philippines to be on their guard against counterfeit medicines.
FDA director Dr Suzette Lazo said that consumers in the country should be careful about buying cheaper drugs, as many unscrupulous traders are reducing the content in capsules to produce more for the same cost.
Dr Lazo also warned that the fake drugs, which can be checked through mass chromatography processes, could be dangerous as they have the potential to aggravate a patient's health problems, cause a failure of treatment or even be fatal.
She explained that the issue had emerged as a result of the public's demand for cheaper medicines.
Signs to look out for are suspiciously low price, unusual packaging and irregularly colouring of the pills themselves.
The FDA added that it will continue to monitor the situation and check suspect drugs through laboratory-based chromatography testing.
Posted by Ben Evans