Health ministry allays fears over safety of diabetes drug
Patients worried that pill will cause damage to internal organs

By Alia Ahmad, Deputy UAE Editor and Mahmood Saberi, Senior Reporter
Published: 00:00 March 28, 2010 - Gulf news

Dubai: The Ministry of Health has moved to allay fears expressed by some diabetic patients that a pill they were taking could cause damage to their digestive organs as it seems not to dissolve in the body.

Fatima, a diabetic patient, said she took the drug Glucophage XR (500mg) but noticed that the undissolved tablet passed out in her stool.

She said other women who took the tablet had not noticed this till she pointed out the worrying phenomenon to them.

Fatima said she was worried about what would happen to her if the tablet was not expelled in her waste. She said she feared how it would affect her internal organs.

She carried out an experiment and put the tablet in a bottle of water and then left it for a day.

The tablet ballooned in size and looked like a small sponge after 24 hours. There was no change in the colour of the water. She contacted the drug importers and was informed that they would investigate the matter.

Fertility uses

The drug also helps patients with polycystic ovaries but who wish to conceive and have a child.

The 32 year old said she took the tablets for a week but stopped doing so after she went back to her doctor for an explanation and was told it could be a problem with her digestion.

"Doctors should tell patients what to expect when they take this pill," she said.

Fatima was sure that particular batch of the drug was fake after she went in for a test and found no problem with her abdomen.

Dr Ameen Al Amiri, CEO for Medical Practice and Licensing, Ministry of Health, told Gulf News that it was impossible for fake drugs to get into the country.

He said the import process includes the verification of the contents of the drug at the Ministry's laboratories.

"There are stringent checks at the entry points [such] as airports and seaports," he said, adding that each consignment was checked by customs inspectors.

All imported medicines are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States or the European Medicines Agency, he said.

Al Amiri said random inspections of pharmacies throughout the country were routinely carried out and pharmacies caught selling counterfeit drugs were temporarily closed before being fined heavily.

He, however, admitted that some individuals could be bringing in drugs for their personal use — a phenomenon which he said is very difficult to check. "As you know thousands of people come into the country every day," he said.

The product manager for Merck Sante, Dr Ali Sulaiman, said the XR on the tablet means it is a slow-release drug meant for maximum absorption.

The drug was launched in the market recently, he said before adding that the drug is gentler and there is no stomach discomfort.

The drug is slowly released in the body throughout the day and it is common for the raw material of the tablet to be later discharged from the body.

A 1000mg tablet will soon be available on the market, he said.