• INDUSTRY: Fake versions of an antimalarial drug allegedly containing hydroxychloroquine were detected in Mexico’s pharma supply chain, the Mexican industry acknowledged. Despite questions about its effectiveness against the coronavirus, the drug has risen in demand.
• ALERT: In June, Mexico’s health surveillance agency (COFEPRIS) launched a public warning after French drug maker Sanofi began an investigation given a consumer’s complaint over a falsified version of its decade-old drug Plaquenil, which did not contained hydroxychloroquine.
• INVESTIGATION: “You have to follow the chain backwards, the pharmacies that had them surely made invoices for those products. It is the responsibility of the authority to reconstruct the events”, said Rafael Gual, head of Mexico’s pharmaceutical trade association (CANIFARMA).
• CONTROVERSY: In June, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the emergency use authorization of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of coronavirus patients. For months, US President Donald Trump repeatedly endorsed the use of hydroxychloroquine.
