The Ministry of Health (MoH), via its Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division (CFDD), advises of the WHO Medical Product Alert concerning falsified IBRANCE (palbociclib) capsules. The product is a cancer medicine used for the treatment of certain types of breast cancer in adults.
The falsified products deliberately misrepresent their identity, composition and source, and the genuine manufacturer, Pfizer, has confirmed that the products mentioned in this alert are falsified. The WHO Alert stated that falsified IBRANCE (palbociclib) products have been detected in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya and Türkiye.
Laboratory testing conducted by the genuine manufacturer confirmed that the falsified products contained no active pharmaceutical ingredient. Since these falsified medicines lack the required active ingredient, they must be considered unsafe, and their use can lead to treatment failure, uncontrolled progression of cancer and an increased risk of death.
In addition, multiple visual discrepancies were identified on the packaging. While some of the falsified products carried genuine lot numbers, they displayed abnormalities in packaging, serialisation and capsule printing.
The product, IBRANCE (palbociclib) capsules, is registered for use in Trinidad and Tobago and therefore, out of an abundance of caution, the Ministry advises persons who may be in possession of the following drug bearing lot numbers to discontinue use immediately and to return it to the place of purchase where possible.
The following features have been identified as signs of falsified IBRANCE (palbociclib) products:
Label abnormalities:
• States “Manufactured by: Pfizer, PO Box 29387, Mission, KS 66201”.
• Contains spelling errors or poor-quality printing.
Packaging discrepancies:
• Security foil on the bottle displays the Pfizer logo in black ink.
Capsule irregularities:
• Capsules marked with black ink “PBC 125” or have no markings at all.
• Capsules appear in unusual colours (e.g., bright orange).
