Real vs fake Remdesivir injections: Know the difference

An injection named Covipri is circulating on social media, with many referring to it as the Remdesivir injection. Here’s all you need to know how to differentiate between real and fake Remdesivir injections

Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19, people are looking for treatments and the demand for certain drugs and injections has increased. A Remdesivir injection is one such drug that doctors are prescribing for patients with severe illness on a case-to-case basis. With a rise in demand, fake products have flooded the market.  Images of “Covipiri” packets with “Remdesivir” written on it were shared on social media with claims that the drug is available and people who may need these for COVID patients may contact them.

BEWARE! Do not buy #MedicalSupplies from unverified sources.#Remdesivir #IndiaFightsCorona @MoHFW_INDIA @MIB_India @drharshvardhan @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/urjL7qjbjA

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) May 3, 2021

IPS officer Monika Bhardwaj, DCP of the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, has posted a tweet detailing how to differentiate between genuine Remdesivir from a fake vial.

1. Fake Remdesivir packages do not have “Rx” written on them just before the name of the injection.

2. A capitalisation error in the third line written on the package. The genuine package reads as “100 mg/Vial”, while the fake one has “100 mg/vial” written.

3. There is an alignment error in the brand name of the product. Note the gap on the package of fake and genuine Remdesivir injections. The fake vial has an increased gap.

4. There is another capitalisation error below the brand name in “Vial/vial” on the fake package.

5. One more capitalisation error is found at the bottom of the front side of the fake Remdesivir package. “For use in” written on the genuine package becomes “for use in” on the fake drug package.

6. On the back of the box, the “Warning” label is in red on the genuine package. The fake one has a black warning label.

7. Just below the warning label, key information “Covifir [brand name] is manufactured under the license from Gilead Sciences, Inc” is missing on the fake injection package.

8. There is a capitalisation error in the text identifying the drug-maker, Hetero Labs. The fake Remdesivir package reads India as “India”.

9. There is a spelling error in the full address on the package containing the fake Remdesivir injection. It spells Telangana as “Telagana”.

She mentioned this checklist is for educational purposes, and she hasn’t received any such complaints yet.

Meanwhile Hyderabad police has also given some guidelines to procure original medical products. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar advised citizens to follow the ‘6 Ps’ while buying Remdesivir, illegally sold at a high price in the black.

The six ‘P’s are — place, prescription, promises, price, privacy and product. The CP elaborated these ‘P’s as

1. Place: Do not buy from an unknown website; only buy from the licensed supplier.

2. Prescription: Buy the following only if prescribed by the doctor.

3. Promises: Any fake promises on the efficacy of the vaccine are questionable.

4. Price: Always buy for MRP price, report if demanded more.

5. Privacy: Do not reveal your IDs and passwords while buying the vaccine or anything on the internet.

6. Product: Check with the already used people, if the injection and the details match,”

Moreover, a fact check by Press Information Bureau (PIB) said that no Remdesivir by the name Covipri exists, “this vial by the name COVIPRI is Fake. Do not buy medical supplies from unverified sources and beware of counterfeit medicines and injections”.