UAE Ministry withdraws malaria medicine

Dubai: Health authorities in the UAE have withdrawn several brands of medicines used to treat malaria, cough and cold, arthritis and also arteriosclerosis.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) issued a circular to pull out all batches and suspend the supply of Quinine dihydrochloride 300mg / 2 ml injection, used to treat malaria as the product was not registered with the ministry.

The medicine was manufactured by Vulcan Laboratories in India.

The Department of Health in Abu Dhabi also announced that it removed all batches of the drug Frenin injection (phenylephrine 10 mg), used to treat cough and cold. After carrying out a laboratory analysis on samples, the results indicated that the Frenin drug contained unusual particles in the intravenous solution.

The MoHAP also suspended the supply and distribution of the cough medicine, noting that it was not registered with the ministry.

In another circular, the MoHAP issued caution against the drug Actemra/RoActemra, used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, arteriosclerosis in giant cells, and idiopathic arthritis, after tests revealed that it caused “serious drug-induced liver injury, including acute liver failure, hepatitis and jaundice.”

The ministry recommended the manufacturer to add a warning label, and directed health care practitioners not to prescribe the drug to patients who have problems with their level of liver enzymes.