Materia Medica Malaysiana

Health Ministry Will Review Security Label Usage If Ineffective

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry will not hesitate to review the usage of security labels for products registered under the Drug Control Authority (DCA) if it is proven to be ineffective, Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek said Tuesday.
However, any change must be supported by valid claims, he told reporters after launching the Meditag Label Awareness campaign here.
Effective May 1, all registered pharmaceutical and health products must have the Meditag security hologram label to specify that the products have been approved for sale in a move to combat the increasing number of registered health products.
Mediharta Sdn Bhd, the producer of the Meditag security labels, has been given the task to distribute the labels to all manufacturers and importers of health products registered with the ministry.
However, manufacturers of health products were reported to be unhappy with the move, arguing that it was needless to implement the system as the quantum of counterfeit health and drug products in the country was minimal.
Dr Chua said the number of counterfeit products might be small but the availability of unregistered products was a major issue.
He said that in 2003, the Pharmaceutical Enforcement Division of the ministry seized RM6.5 million worth of unregistered health and drug products but the figure escalated to RM26 million last year.
"The industry should view this exercise as a social responsibility to ensure that only authentic products which have been approved by the DCA are on sale in the country," he said.
Asked why only one company was given the exclusive right to distribute the security label, he said : "If it was given to many companies, we wouldn't know which one (security label) is fake and which is not."
Queried on Mediharta Sdn Bhd's selection, he said the contract was given during the tenure of his predecessor and "you have to ask the former health minister."