Minister of Health, Family and Welfare Geela Ali has said the Maldives has the capability to verify the quality and authenticity of medicines imported into the country, citing the recent detection of counterfeit batches of the cancer medicine Dazalex.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister said counterfeit medicines are circulating in many countries and noted that the Maldives' report to the World Health Organization (WHO) led to an international investigation into the counterfeit medicine.

Minister Geela said the Maldives was the first country to raise concerns about the suspected counterfeit Dazalex and submit it to the WHO for verification, demonstrating the country's ability to assess the quality and authenticity of imported medicines.

She added that the WHO's investigation later identified counterfeit Dazalex in Mexico and that the fake batches have since been removed from circulation globally.

The Minister also said the WHO had expressed its appreciation to the Government for its role in helping identify and stop the circulation of the counterfeit medicine.

Dazalex is used to treat multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

The Ministry previously clarified that the counterfeit injection was not supplied through any pharmacy in the Maldives. Instead, it had been imported on prescription for a patient seeking cancer treatment overseas. The counterfeit product was identified by doctors before it was administered, ensuring the patient did not receive the injection.