PHARMACEUTICAL Services yesterday strongly denied DISY deputy Eleni Theocharous’ accusations that the government has been distributing expired medications after it was revealed a four-and-a-half year old haemophiliac boy was taking medication which had a sticker with a new expiry date stuck over the old one.
On Thursday, Theocharous, herself a doctor, blasted the government for “playing with the safety of our children” after she announced that the boy’s medication expiration date – listed on the bottle as June 2004, had been covered over with another sticker stating it expired on July 2005.
Health Minister Andreas Gavrielides on Thursday said that Theocharous’ claim that the government was wilfully distributing expired medicines was “crazy”.
But Theocharous retorted back that Gavrielides had done nothing to prove otherwise. “The Minister said these are ‘crazy’ things. Then why didn’t he conduct an investigation since he has had the charges [about the medicine] from the parents of this child for nine months now?
“The medicine continued to be distributed more than six months after the expiry of the second date.”
Pharmaceutical Services Spokesman Antonis Kontemeniotis said yesterday that the parents had probably kept the medication in storage, which was why it was being used beyond the second expiration date of July 2005. “Never have Pharmaceutical Services said that they would not replace the medication.”
Kontemeniotis said that Pharmaceutical Services had not unilaterally placed a sticker with the new expiration date on the medication but that the extension came from the British manufacturer after approval from Britain’s Pharmaceutical Services.
Government Spokesman George Lillikas defended the Pharmaceutical Services, claiming that the pharmaceutical authorities of Britain had approved a six-month extension of the expiration date.
Theocharous found it particularly suspect that the expiry date could be changed on a “sensitive” medicine that is derived from blood. “If they can so easily change the expiry dates then why are they so careful to check if this medicine can transmit AIDS and Hepatitis?”
She questioned why an expiry date would even exist if there were no reduction in the performance of the medication, and also asked why the medication was not permitted in Britain. “A medicine that doesn’t have a licence to be distributed in its country of manufacturing immediately raises questions about its quality.”
According to Politis, the four-year old’s mother sent two letters to the Health Minister, one in March 2005 and another in June 2005. Theocharous said that the Ministry never responded to their questions.
“The parents never received an answer either from the Minister or from the Pharmaceutical Services who owed it to respond to them within a month.”
Kontemeniotis said that Pharmaceutical Services had sent their reply to the Health Ministry. “From there I can’t say where the response was sent.”
The Attorney-general is currently investigating Theocharous’ allegations.
