WHO warns again of falsified cancer drug Imfinzi

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that further batches of a counterfeit copy of AstraZeneca's cancer immunotherapy Imfinzi have been encountered in Iran and Türkiye.

Earlier this year, the international agency said it had received news of one falsified batch of Imfinzi (durvalumab), used to treat cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in those two countries, as well as in Armenia.

Now, it is warning that three new batches of the counterfeit – with the lot numbers BAZR, BBEG, and AVZT – have been encountered in circulation and confirmed by AZ as fake due to discrepancies in packaging artwork and text placement.

BAZR and BBEG are genuine lot numbers used for the drug in India and Egypt, respectively, while AVZT is fictitious. The earlier batch used the genuine lot number BAVX but had incorrect expiry dates.

"These falsified products should be considered unsafe, and their use may be life-threatening in some circumstances," said the WHO in its latest alert. "The use of these falsified Imfinzi injections may lead to ineffective or delayed treatment," it added.