Fraud in the name of inventing COVID-19 medication

In 2020, the entire world was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no treatment, and scientists and doctors worldwide were clueless about how to stop the spread of this deadly virus. The deaths of millions of people stunned the globe. Major global pharmaceutical companies began working day and night to develop medicines and vaccines to combat COVID-19. Amidst this pandemic, a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company set a heinous example of fraud and deception by capitalising on human helplessness. SK+F, owned by the Transcom Group, raked in millions of takas by releasing a fever medication in the market, claiming it to be an oral cure invented for COVID-19.
On November 10, 2021, SK+F announced that they had introduced “Molnupiravir”, the world’s first approved drug for COVID-19 treatment, to the Bangladeshi market. The marketing of this new drug was announced on that day during a ceremony at the Banani office of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited in the capital. An official of SK+F stated there that they brought the drug to the market after completing all formalities and approval processes. The company claimed that there had been no specific approved medication for the treatment of coronavirus, which had taken more than 5 million lives worldwide over a period of more than one and a half years. On November 4, the UK approved “Molnupiravir” for its treatment. As soon as symptoms of COVID-19 infection appear, an adult must take four capsules in the morning and four capsules at night. In this way, 40 capsules must be consumed over 5 days. The price per capsule was fixed at Tk50, meaning an individual had to buy medicines worth Tk2,000.
However, according to information from the British Pharmaceutical Journal, this is not a COVID-19 medication at all, nor was it invented during the pandemic. In Britain, doctors use this medicine for patients suffering from high fever. According to information from medicine journals, Molnupiravir is an oral capsule or tablet that was generally used for treating the flu. Since a major symptom of COVID-19 is high fever, its usage spiked during the pandemic in various countries, including the UK, to suppress fever. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the medicine regulatory agency of the United States, has approved Molnupiravir for use as a fever medication. It is by no means a COVID-19 drug.
Yet, SK+F promoted it as a COVID-19 medication. In their announcement regarding the marketing of this drug, the institution stated: “Eskayef is very happy to share the launching news of UK MHRA Approved Oral Anti-Covid drug Molnupiravir with brand name MONUVIR 200 Capsule, which is world’s 1st generic Molnupiravir from UK MHRA Approved Plant.”
When the matter caught the attention of physicians, they refused to recognise this drug as a COVID-19 medication. As soon as an investigation into the matter began, SK+F withdrew the drug from the market. This fake oral COVID-19 medicine is no longer being sold. When inquiries were made at multiple pharmacies regarding whether the medicine was still on sale, shopkeepers informed that the company had recalled the drug from the market.

According to the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) laws of Bangladesh, this is a punishable offense. For such an act, an institution’s license can be revoked. However, despite such horrific deception, no action has been taken against them. SK+F was contacted regarding this fraudulent activity. An official from SK+F’s Public Relations department advised contacting the Marketing and Sales department regarding the matter. When Dr Md Mujahidul Islam, Executive Director of the Marketing and Sales department, was contacted, he refused to comment on the issue.
Not only with COVID-19 medication, but allegations of fraud and deception against the company also exist regarding other medicines. For instance, SK+F sells two separate medicines in the market for gastric issues: Esoral MUPS (Esomeprazole MUPS) and Losectil (Omeprazole). Although the effectiveness of both medicines is identical, the same drug is sold under two different names to manipulate the market. SK+F uses these drugs to form a syndicate in the gastric medicine market. An artificial crisis is created in the market to hike medicine prices. Right under the nose of the Drug Administration, SK+F arbitrarily increases and sells their medicines at higher prices, yet no action is taken against them. When the Drug Administration was contacted regarding this, a director speaking on the condition of anonymity admitted to SK+F’s market syndication. However, because the company is highly influential, the Drug Administration is afraid to take action against them.

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Furthermore, sources from the Drug Administration revealed that questions have been raised regarding the quality of several SK+F medicines. Pharmacists have questioned the quality of this company’s vitamins and supplements, specifically Ostocal GX (Calcium + Vitamin D3) and Xinc B (Zinc & Vitamin B-complex). Demands have been repeatedly raised to test whether these medicines possess any actual efficacy. According to pharma experts, these medicines are unnecessarily prescribed to patients through various inducements offered to doctors. However, because the owners of SK+F possess two influential newspapers, everyone is afraid to speak out against them.

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