Fake medicines in Pakistan: what DRAP's alerts reveal, and how to protect yourself
Fake and substandard medicines are a real, recurring problem in Pakistan, and DRAP's own alert record shows it. In 2025 alone DRAP published 35 alerts about spurious or falsified products and 60 about substandard ones. That is why Mehfooz Dawa exists, and why a one-minute check at the counter is worth doing.
Fake medicine Pakistan: what DRAP's alerts show
Reading through DRAP's public alerts reveals some clear patterns:
- Empty tablets. In June 2026 DRAP reported tablets labelled as Novidat 500 mg (ciprofloxacin) that contained 0.00 mg of the antibiotic on testing, and Tonoflex-P tablets with none of either active ingredient.
- Hormone tablets. In April 2026 several dydrogesterone brands used in pregnancy care were declared spurious, with no active ingredient detected.
- Injectables and vaccines. Alerts in 2026 covered falsified Rhophylac anti-D injection and falsified influenza vaccines, products where a fake can cause serious harm.
- Medical devices. Disposable syringes were declared substandard after failing the auto-disable test that prevents reuse.
You can search all of these yourself in our DRAP recall alerts tool.
Spurious, substandard, falsified: the words in the alerts
DRAP's notices use legal terms from the Drugs Act, 1976. In short: a spurious or falsified product pretends to be something it is not; a substandard product is genuine but fails quality tests; an unregistered product is sold without DRAP approval. Our guide on what these terms mean goes deeper.
Why fakes reach patients
Counterfeiters target fast-moving brands with good margins and slip product into the supply chain through unlicensed wholesalers, informal markets and online sellers. Packaging is often good enough to fool a quick look. Before track and trace, a patient had almost no way to check a box beyond its appearance.
Can you spot a fake pack?
The pack marked Suspect has five warning signs. Tap where you see something wrong.
- Misspelled name. “Zenadool” instead of the real brand spelling. Copied packs often have typos.
- Logo looks wrong. Blurry or off-colour logos are a sign of scanned and reprinted artwork.
- No registration number. Every legal medicine prints a DRAP Reg. No. Here it is missing.
- Expiry looks altered. Uneven, overprinted or scratched dates suggest tampering.
- No square code. There is no scannable code, so this pack cannot be checked by serial number.
All five found. On a real pack, two or more of these signs is reason to stop and ask.
How to identify fake medicine in Pakistan: five habits
- Buy from licensed pharmaciesAsk for a receipt. Be wary of street sellers and social media offers.
- Scan the packScan the square code before you leave the counter. It takes seconds.
- Check batch and expiry on box and stripThey should match exactly.
- Notice changesA different colour, taste, size or effect from your usual medicine is worth mentioning to your pharmacist.
- Be suspicious of bargainsA branded medicine at a fraction of its usual price is the most common lure.
If you find something wrong, report it. Patient reports are how many of these alerts begin.
How fake medicine reaches a pharmacy shelf
Fakes rarely arrive through a single dramatic route. More often they slip in at weak points:
- Illegal productionSmall unlicensed units press tablets or fill capsules and print copied cartons.
- Grey-market wholesalersUnlicensed middlemen mix fakes with genuine stock and sell cheaply to retailers.
- Smuggled or unregistered importsProducts that never went through DRAP registration, sometimes genuine abroad, sometimes not.
- Diverted or expired stockOld or returned stock relabelled with new dates.
- Online and social media salesDirect to patients, with no pharmacist in between.
Track and trace is designed to close several of these gaps at once: each genuine pack's serial number is uploaded by its manufacturer, and the system can flag serials that do not exist or that appear more than once. From 9 October 2026 the code is mandatory on products made or imported in Pakistan; see how the rule works.
Fake medicine vs real: how they compare
| Real medicine | Fake medicine | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Licensed manufacturer or importer | Unknown |
| Content | Tested active ingredient at the stated strength | None, too little, wrong or contaminated |
| Square code (new packs) | Verifies against DRAP's record | Missing, not found, or a copied serial |
| Label | Complete: Reg. No., batch, dates, MRP | Often missing items, typos or poor print |
| Price | Close to the printed MRP | Often suspiciously cheap |
| Effect | As expected | Little or none, or unexpected reactions |
Who is most at risk
- People buying long-term medicines in bulk from the cheapest source.
- Patients in areas with few licensed pharmacies.
- Anyone buying "imported" products online or from social media.
- Families buying during shortages, when scarce brands are offered by unknown sellers.
Fake medicine latest news: where to follow it
News stories about fake medicine busts are useful but often incomplete. The primary source is DRAP's own alerts, which name the product, the batch and the testing laboratory. Our recall page lists the latest alerts and checks DRAP's newest ones live, so you can search a name you saw in the news and see exactly which batches were affected.
Nakli dawa se kaise bachein
Pakistan mein nakli aur ghair-maiyari dawaen ek haqeeqi masla hain. DRAP har saal darjanon alerts jaari karta hai. Apni hifazat ke liye licensed pharmacy se dawa lein, dabbay ka code scan karein, batch aur expiry milayein aur bohat sasti dawa se bachein. Shak ho to dawa istemal na karein aur shikayat karein. Tafseel ke liye asli aur nakli dawa ki pehchan parhein.
What families can do together
- Agree on one or two licensed pharmacies you trust and use them consistently.
- Teach older relatives to show you a new pack, or to ask the pharmacist to scan it.
- Keep a photo of each regular medicine's pack, so you notice when the next one looks different.
- Share real DRAP alerts, not forwarded lists of unknown origin.
Wondering whether a product you saw in a forwarded message is really banned? Read how to check if a medicine is banned. Cheap, high-volume medicines are copied most, and many are on the essential medicines list.
Questions people ask
How common are fake medicines in Pakistan?
There is no single reliable national figure. What is public is DRAP's own alert record: dozens of spurious and substandard product alerts every year, covering antibiotics, painkillers, hormones, vaccines and injections. The WHO estimates about 1 in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified.
Which medicines are faked most?
Fast-selling and expensive ones: common antibiotics, painkillers, vaccines, injectable products, hormone tablets and imported brands. DRAP alerts repeatedly name well-known brands, not obscure ones.
What happens to people who take fake medicine?
It depends on the fake. A tablet with no active ingredient means an infection or illness goes untreated and can worsen. Contaminated or wrong ingredients can cause direct harm. Under-dosed antibiotics also help bacteria become resistant.
Is buying from a big pharmacy enough protection?
It lowers the risk a lot but does not remove it, because fakes can enter through distributors. Scanning the pack adds a check that does not depend on where you bought it.
How can I identify fake medicine in Pakistan?
Scan the square code on the box, confirm the result matches the pack, check for a DRAP registration number, compare batch and expiry on box and strip, inspect the seal and print, and be wary of very low prices.
Fake medicine ka asar kya hota hai?
Bimari ka ilaj nahin hota ya der se hota hai, aur kabhi ghalat ya milawati ajza se seedha nuqsan hota hai. Shak ho to doctor ko pack ke saath dikhayein.
Are fake medicines more common in some cities?
DRAP's alerts come from laboratories and inspectors across the country, and fakes have been found in many places. Where you buy matters more than which city you are in: licensed pharmacies with receipts carry far less risk than informal sellers.
Is it safe to buy medicine from a big chain pharmacy?
It is much safer, but fakes can enter any supply chain through distributors. Scanning the pack adds a check that does not depend on the shop.
What should I do if I took a fake medicine?
See a doctor, take the pack with you, and mention what you took and when. Then report the product to DRAP with the batch number.
What is the fake medicine effect on health?
The effect of fake medicine ranges from no treatment at all to direct harm from wrong or contaminated ingredients, and for antibiotics it adds to resistance.
Fake medicine kya hai aur kaise bachein?
Fake medicine kya hai: asli dawa ki naqal jis mein asal juz kam, ghalat ya na ho. Bachne ke liye licensed pharmacy, code scan aur label check karein.
