Serious concerns have been raised over instructions issued to hospitals to use Co-Amoxyclav 1.2 mg injections that were previously withdrawn from use, amid questions over drug quality, safety standards and regulatory oversight.
According to documents, the Medical Supply Unit has issued a letter dated 17 November 2025 (MSD/Q/P 2025/61) instructing all hospitals to use Co-Amoxyclav 1.2 mg injections, despite the medicine having been temporarily withdrawn by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) on May 10 last year through letter NMRA/PA15/QF/08/2024. The withdrawal followed findings that the product did not meet British standards and that glass fragments and granules were detected in the medicine vials.
It has also been revealed that the batch in question, MC23016E, expired in September this year, raising further concerns as to why hospitals were instructed to use the drug after its expiry.
The medicine was manufactured and imported by Maan Pharmaceuticals, the same company currently under investigation in connection with patient deaths allegedly linked to substandard Ondansetron injections suspected to have contained bacterial toxins.
President of the Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, has called on the President to order a comprehensive investigation into the incident. He questioned how a medicine that allegedly contained glass fragments, unidentified particles and failed to meet required standards was cleared for use, and why instructions were issued to use a drug that had already been withdrawn and subsequently expired.
Dr. Sanjeewa further alleged that medicines imported from the same Indian pharmaceutical company have repeatedly failed quality standards, and urged that investigations be extended to officials of the Ministry of Health, the NMRA and the State Pharmaceutical Corporation. He called for scrutiny of all those involved in approving the drugs, serving on technical and procurement committees, and overseeing the procurement process.
He also stated that steps are being taken to seek an investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department in the near future into what he described as questionable drug procurement practices.
