Dubai MoH Assures safety of Diabetes Drug

The Ministry of Health – Dubai made a movement to reassure against 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.

A diabetic patient, called Fatima, 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.

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

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.

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