The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an alert that falsified Oxymorphone Hydrochloride has been detected in Finland. This opioid is a painkiller, mostly prescribed during surgeries and for patients in palliative care, and more rarely to treat severe anxiety.
The alert addresses a single falsified batch of the product which was reported in July 2024 by the Finnish Medicines Agency (FIMEA). It found that the falsified tablets contained Metonitazene rather than Oxymorphone Hydrochloride. Metonitazene is another type of opioid which is designated Class A in the UK and controlled as a Schedule 1 narcotic drug in the US, due to its psychoactive properties. It has no legitimate therapeutic use.
The falsified batch is recognisable because it is labelled as a 40mg dose, and Oxymorphone Hydrochloride is only available as a 5mg or 10mg dose. Additionally, the falsified batch lacks both a barcode and embossed letters/numbers on the bottle’s label.
Like many opioids, Metonitazene carries a high risk of adverse effects including death, due to its potency (30-200 times that of morphine) and its respiratory depressant effects. Dispensers of medicines who encounter a falsified batch should report it immediately to their National Regulatory Authority or Pharmacovigilance centre; in Finland, that is the Finnish Medicines Agency Defective Product division at qdefect@fimea.fi.
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