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Groupon cited for selling fake Pfizer vitamins

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the public about fake Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (PCH) vitamins that are being sold online by popular discount coupon website Groupon Philippines.In an advisory, the FDA said that counterfeit Pfizer Centrum and Centrum Silver were “advertised, sold, or offered for sale online thru Beeconomic Philippines Inc., owned and operated by Groupon Philippines.”An investigation conducted by the FDA with the PCH revealed that the labels of the counterfeit Centrum and Centrum Silver products differ from the FDA-registered products. The vitamins advertised on the Groupon site were discounted by 40% from its original price of around P1,900.Other signs that the advertised vitamins were fake include:The counterfeit products do not bear the FDA Certificate of Product Registration Number and do not contain the same formulation approved by the FDA.The counterfeit products do not carry the complete name and address of the manufacturer and/or distributor as required by the FDA.The font size of the generic name multivitamin + mineral is not in conformity with the labeling requirements of RA No. 6675, otherwise known as the Generics Law of 1988, which requires that the generic name should at least be one point size bigger than the brand name.The products were deemed counterfeit as defined by Republic Act No. 8203, otherwise known as the Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs.In addition, Groupon Philippines is said to have violated Republic Act No. 9711, a law that prohibits the “manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, or retail of any drug product by any natural juridical person without the License to Operate (LTO) from the FDA.”While guidelines how to determine counterfeit products exists, the FDA has yet to issued any formal rules on the online sale or advertisement of pharmaceutical products.The FDA had advised consumers to buy their medicines only from FDA-licensed establishments and outlets, "until such time that the FDA can assure the safety, efficacy, and quality of medicines sold through this medium.”Details if the sale of the counterfeit Pfizer vitamins may lead to a legal case against Groupon Philippines were not discussed.   

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