Counterfeit Injectables: How Do You Know What Is Being Injected?
When choosing an aesthetic clinic, patients are often told to “do their research”. Check the practitioner’s qualifications and experience. Look at their results. Ask questions. Make sure you feel comfortable before going ahead.
All of that is important. But patient safety should not rest entirely on the patient making the right choice.
Clinics have responsibilities too.
That includes knowing exactly what they are purchasing, where it has come from and whether the supplier they are buying from is reputable and authorised to distribute the product. Choosing a product simply because it is available at a lower price is not good enough when that product is going to be injected into a patient.
This is where product provenance becomes important.
In aesthetic medicine, it is not enough for a box, syringe or label to look convincing. Clinics need to know that the products they inject are genuine, have been obtained through appropriate supply channels and can be traced back through the supply chain if there is ever a problem.
It is an issue that has become increasingly important as injectable products have become more widely available online and increasingly low-cost treatment offers compete for patients’ attention.
普罗菲洛 provides a useful example.
Why are people talking about counterfeit Profhilo?
Profhilo is an injectable hyaluronic acid treatment manufactured by IBSA and used to improve skin quality, hydration and laxity.
Its popularity inevitably means there is demand for the product outside established medical and pharmacy supply chains.
The problem is that a patient sitting in a treatment chair has very little way of knowing where the product in front of them actually came from.
There are also two separate issues that are sometimes confused.
一个 counterfeit product is not genuine Profhilo at all. It may imitate the branding or packaging but its contents, manufacture and safety cannot be assumed to be the same as the authentic product.
一个 parallel or unauthorised import, however, may be a genuine product originally intended for another market. That does not automatically mean the product is counterfeit, but it can raise questions about how it reached the UK, including how it was stored and transported, and whether its journey through the supply chain can be properly traced.
That distinction matters.
A genuine box doesn’t necessarily tell you the whole story
This is where product provenance becomes more complicated than simply asking whether the packaging “looks real”.
During discussions with the 普罗菲洛 team, we were made aware of a case elsewhere in the UK market where product had been identified that was originally destined for Mauritius.
That does not mean the product itself was necessarily counterfeit. The concern is how and why a product intended for another market has arrived here, and whether its journey can be properly accounted for.
Injectable products need to be transported and stored under appropriate conditions. Clinics also need accurate batch information and a clear supply chain so that a product can be traced if a safety issue or adverse reaction occurs.
For us, therefore, it is not enough simply to know that a product is genuine. We also need to know that it has reached the clinic through an appropriate, traceable supply chain and that its provenance can be verified.
Why does the supply chain matter if something goes wrong?
Most injectable aesthetic treatments are performed without complication, but no injectable procedure is entirely risk-free.
If a patient experiences an unexpected reaction, the practitioner needs to know exactly what was injected, its batch number and where it was obtained.
When products are purchased through recognised suppliers, there is an established chain through which the clinic can investigate a problem and, where appropriate, seek support from the supplier or manufacturer.
If a product has been obtained from an unknown or unauthorised source, that chain may be much harder to establish.
There may also be implications for a practitioner’s insurance if products are being used that fall outside the requirements of their policy or have not been sourced appropriately. The exact position will depend on the individual policy, but it is another reason why responsible clinics take procurement seriously.
Why very cheap injectable treatments should make you ask questions
Price alone cannot tell you whether an injectable product is genuine.
There are perfectly legitimate reasons why clinics charge different prices, including location, practitioner experience, overheads and promotional activity.
But there is a point at which unusually low prices should prompt questions.
Genuine injectable products purchased through reputable suppliers have a cost. So do appropriate medical premises, insurance, training, consultation time, aftercare and the ability to manage complications.
When we see injectable treatments advertised at exceptionally low prices, including through mass-discount and voucher platforms, the question should not simply be:
“Why is this so cheap?”
It should also be:
“What exactly am I being injected with, who is injecting it and where did the product come from?”
A low price does not prove that a product is counterfeit. But when something appears substantially cheaper than the normal market price, patients are entitled to understand how that price is being achieved.
The new Profhilo hologram
IBSA is introducing additional security features to Profhilo packaging, including a hologram designed to make authentic products easier to identify and counterfeit packaging more difficult to reproduce.
This is a positive development.
But a hologram should be viewed as one part of product verification, not a substitute for choosing an appropriately qualified practitioner and a reputable clinic.
Packaging can evolve. Counterfeiters can become more sophisticated. And, as we have already discussed, a genuine product can still raise questions if it has reached a clinic through an unexpected supply route.
The bigger issue remains provenance.
No hologram, no treatment?
Not necessarily.
As packaging changes are introduced, there can be a transition period while existing legitimate stock moves through authorised supply chains. An older genuine pack should not automatically be assumed to be counterfeit simply because it does not carry a newer security feature.
This is why patients should not be expected to authenticate medical products themselves based on packaging alone.
The clinic purchasing and administering the product should already have done that due diligence.
What we do at Dr Preema London Clinic
At Dr Preema London Clinic, we take product sourcing seriously because it forms part of patient safety.
Following the recent discussion around Profhilo sourcing, we contacted our suppliers directly and confirmed that the pharmacies we use are authorised to distribute the products we purchase from them.
We maintain records of the products and batches used in clinic so that there is traceability should it ever be required.
For our patients, that means the responsibility for checking where a product came from does not begin when they sit in the treatment chair. It begins with the decisions we make when purchasing products for the clinic.
This isn’t only about Profhilo
Profhilo has brought this conversation into focus, but product sourcing is a much wider issue within injectable aesthetics.
Dermal fillers, skin boosters and other injectable products are available from a growing number of online sources, some of which may sit outside the manufacturer’s recognised UK distribution network.
The fact that a product is available to purchase online does not automatically tell a practitioner anything about its provenance, storage history or authenticity.
That is why choosing a clinic involves more than looking at before-and-after photographs or comparing treatment prices.
The practitioner, the product and the supply chain all matter.
What can patients ask before an injectable treatment?
You do not need to become an expert in pharmaceutical packaging before having an aesthetic treatment.
But it is entirely reasonable to ask:
-
- What product are you using?
- Who manufactures it?
- Where do you source it from?
- Can the product and batch be traced?
- What happens if I experience a complication?
- Who will I be able to contact after my treatment?
A reputable practitioner should be comfortable answering those questions.
The bigger picture: trust should extend beyond the practitioner
When we talk about safe aesthetic treatment, much of the conversation understandably focuses on practitioner qualifications and experience.
Those things are enormously important.
But safety also extends to what happens behind the scenes: where products are purchased, how they are stored, whether batches are recorded, how complications are managed and whether the clinic has appropriate relationships with its suppliers.
Patients should not have to inspect every box or research every batch number themselves.
They should be able to choose a clinic knowing that this work has already been done for them.
At Dr Preema London Clinic, product provenance is part of that responsibility.
Because when something is being injected into your face or body, knowing who is treating you matters.
Knowing what they are treating you with matters too.
作者： 普雷玛·维格医生, Dr Preema London Clinic 医疗总监
