Julius Chen recalls "illegally packaged" gout drug in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, China-based drug wholesaler Julius Chen & Co has been ordered to recall 300mg/tablet formulation of a gout treatment name Puricos (allopurinol) after DoH officials discovered the firm packaged it without a license to do so.
The drug in question is produced in South Africa by manufacturer Pharmacare Lennon before being shipped to Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Department of Health (DoH) said it had ordered the recall after “[finding] that [Julius Chen] illegally stored medicines and was involved in illegal packaging of pharmaceutical products without manufacturing license.”
The regulatory agency explained that pharmaceuticals imported to Hong Kong by wholesalers are required to be packaged by local licensed good manufacturing practices (GMP) manufacturers before distributing to users and retail outlets.
