Hong Kong’s Department of Health seized more than 50 unregistered injections during searches at more than 13 locations on September 2 and arrested a 28-year-old man. The operation was led by the department, while the alleged cancer-prevention product at the centre of the investigation has not been located.
The department said the seized products were mainly vitamin-based injections intended for health maintenance. They were classified as Part 1 poisons under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, meaning their sale or possession is subject to the ordinance’s requirements.
Hong Kong Asia Pacific Medical Centre was alleged to have offered a product marketed as a “WT1” cancer-prevention injection or vaccine for HK$120,000, while claiming it could prevent more than 20 types of cancer. Those claims were reported allegations and have not been established as facts.
The Department of Health said the alleged product remained under investigation and had not been found. Reports used different names for it, including WT1, WT-1 and WLP-1, and the product’s composition, registration status and actual use have not been established in the supplied reports.
The arrested man is 28. Ming Pao described him as a clinic supervisor, while the other reports did not give his occupation. The Department of Health said it suspected the company and those responsible of illegally selling or possessing unregistered pharmaceutical products, but that remains an investigative suspicion rather than a conviction.
The department said the seized injections had been supplied by a vendor and that each administration cost more than HK$10,000. It estimated that the suspected profits were at least five figures, without disclosing a precise amount. These details were reported by the department and were not independently confirmed in all reports.
The Department of Health said possible breaches of import and export rules had been referred to Customs and the Medical Council. Customs was expected to continue following up on the investigation. No formal prosecution was reported, and records so far had not shown adverse reactions linked to the injections, although the investigation was continuing.