A decision made by the European Medicines Agency a year ago, following a study, has led to a mix-up causing turmoil among COVID-19 patients in Cyprus.
Urgently dispatched from Greece after being stranded in Frankfurt due to adverse weather conditions, the packages bore an expiry date of December 2023. The administration of these drugs to Cypriot patients triggered concern as the stated date was misunderstood.
Following the revelation of the packages yesterday, the Ministry of Health initiated an investigation. Just before 8 p.m. yesterday, an announcement was issued, clarifying that the correct expiry date for this drug batch is February 2024.
As per the announcement: “The batch of the mentioned drug, which initially indicated December 2023 as the expiry date, has been granted an extension in the period during which it can be used, following approval from the European Medicines Agency. The new expiry date has been revised to February 2024. It is important to note that this extension was granted in January 2023. Therefore, the drug is absolutely safe.”
The Ministry also stressed the importance for patients to check the accompanying instructions for the relevant labelling. “Each product from the reported batch comes with a manufacturer’s instruction sheet, specifying the new expiry date.”
It is additionally highlighted that adjusting drug expiry dates based on each product’s data is a common practice.
