LUSA 06/28/2024

Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Counterfeit botox seized from Lisbon beauty clinic

Lisbon, June 27, 2024 (Lusa) - Packets of counterfeit Botox were seized by inspectors from Portugal's Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE) at a beauty clinic in Lisbon, and the person in charge of the establishment was charged, ASAE announced on Thursday.

The inspectors seized "medicines, medical devices and apparatus, including a laser machine for removing tattoos, one used for cavitation and another for cryo-modelling, intended for aesthetic care without apparently having the required qualification for the activity", ASAE said in a statement.

Among the items seized, valued at almost €34,000, was botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox (a purified substance derived from the bacterium 'Clostridium botulinum', which produces a neurotoxic protein that paralyses muscles), which ASAE strongly suspects is a counterfeit medicine, as indicated by the brand's legal representative, taking into account the characteristics of the packaging and the batch of the product.

According to the ASAE press release, a criminal inquiry has been launched into the offence of usurpation of medical functions and the person in charge of the establishment has been accused and subjected to a term of identity and residence.

VP/ADB // ADB.

Lusa