Other safety alerts
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| Singapore: HSA Alerts Public to Counterfeit “Eye Mo Regular” (7.5ml) and “Eye Mo Moist” Eye Drops (7.5ml) Sold in Singapore |
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The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is alerting members of the public about counterfeit eye drops sold in two shops in Singapore as they pose public health and safety concerns. These counterfeit eye drops were fraudulently labelled as “EYE MO Regular” (7.5 ml) and “EYE MO Moist” (7.5 ml) from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). HSA found these eye drops to be of poor quality with bacterial contamination. This is the first case of counterfeit eye drops being sold by shops in Singapore. Further investigations are underway.
HSA was first alerted to the possible counterfeit “EYE MO Regular” (7.5 ml) and “EYE MO Moist” (7.5 ml) sold at a provision shop in late 2015. These products were immediately seized by HSA and GSK confirmed these products were counterfeits. HSA has since conducted island-wide surveillance and seized similar counterfeit eye drops from another shop. While the quantities seized were limited, HSA would like to alert consumers who may have bought these products of the safety concerns and to discard these products immediately.
Based on HSA’s investigations, the counterfeit Eye Mo products were:
- Found in pack size of 7.5 ml only while the genuine Eye Mo products in Singapore are available in pack sizes of 7.5 ml, 9 ml, 15 ml and 18 ml.
- Printed with the following batch numbers and manufacturing date combinations on their bottles and cartons. These combinations have never been used by GSK. :
◦ Combination 1 (Eye Mo Regular) : Batch Number: 15106160, Manufacturing Date: 06/03/15
◦ Combination 2 (Eye Mo Regular) : Batch Number: 15025028, Manufacturing Date: 18/03/15
◦ Combination 3 (Eye Mo Moist) : Batch Number: 15004105, Manufacturing Date: 30/04/15
- Sold at Eskimo Frozen Foods Pte Ltd located at 36 Chai Chee Avenue AND H.J. Ventures Pte Ltd located at 150A Bishan Street 11.
Counterfeit eye drops can cause serious harm to users as they are administered directly on the eyes. In this case, the eye drops were contaminated with bacteria, which can cause eye infections and potentially lead to serious complications such as corneal ulcers (open sores in the outer layer of the eye) and blindness. In addition, the use of counterfeit eye drops carries a higher risk of infection if the consumer has had recent ocular surgery or has pre-existing diseases, such as diabetes mellitus.
Consumers are advised to stop using and discard the eye drops if they suspect that the “EYE MO Regular” (7.5 ml) or “EYE MO Moist” eye drops (7.5 ml) is a counterfeit; and consult a doctor immediately if they experience any adverse reactions such as severe eye irritation, redness, blurred vision, pain, light sensitivity, unusual discomfort after using the affected products.
Please refer to the following website in HSA for details:
http://www.hsa.gov.sg/content/hsa/../hsa-alerts-publictocounterfeiteyemoregular76mlandeyemomoisteyedr.html
In Hong Kong, Eye Mo Eyedrops Regular No Vasoconstrict (HK- 17154) and Eye Mo Moist Eye Lubricant Eye Drops 0.3% (HK- 51650) are pharmaceutical products registered by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (Hong Kong) Limited (GSK). Both products are over-the-counter medicines. So far, the Department of Health has not received any adverse drug reaction case related to the products. As confirmed with GSK, the above mentioned batches have not been imported into Hong Kong. GSK has stopped distribution of the products for 1.5 years.
Ends/ Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:00
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