As the examination results of different batches of the over-the-counter medicine Enzyplex showed that the amount of mould found in the digestive remedy exceeded the regulatory limit, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday that it has ordered a recall of the product.
In a statement last week, the bureau said that the medicine had been sold to private hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies in Macau, but didn’t’ reveal how many patients had been prescribed Enzyplex.
According to RTHK reports last week and earlier this week, a type of mould called monascus was earlier found on Enzyplex tablets that were prescribed to a cancer patient at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong who subsequently died. Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority and Department of Health officials held an emergency meeting last Friday and concluded that the kind of mould found on the drug can’t harm a healthy person, but may infect people who are immunocompromised.
This undated handout photo provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday shows a bottle of 100 tablets of Enzyplex and its package.
