News

SAHPRA tackles surge in illicit medicines

13 Oct 2025

The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) launched a five-year-National Action Plan (NAP) to “dismantle the trade of substandard and falsified medical products “that jeopardises patient safety and undermines legitimate medical science”, reported Business Times (12 October 2025)
Since 2021 SAHPRA has received more than 507 reports of illicit and substandard medical products. The increase in these products is driven by distribution through unregulated e commerce platforms and informal traders like spaza shops.
The illicit products include medicines mixed in unregulated facilities; bypassing essential sterility and quality controls; fake products designed to look legitimate; and products with misleading information or hidden harmful additives.
“A single illegal operator in one province was supplying unapproved treatments to over 5,000 patients every month, often with packaging openly admitting the products are "not approved by SAHPRA".
The NAP will focus on strengthening surveillance, tightening border controls, and enhancing supply-chain oversight.

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