Hong Kong authorities have arrested three people, searched 14 premises and seized more than 890 suspected unregistered injections in an investigation into advertisements for an alleged WT1 cancer-prevention product. They said no injection labelled WT1 was found during the searches.
The Department of Health reportedly received a complaint in July and later investigated medical centres allegedly advertising WT1 as a vaccine that could prevent multiple cancers. Authorities were examining possible offences involving unregistered pharmaceutical products and their advertising.
The seized products covered more than 20 types and were mostly described as vitamin and amino-acid injections or other health products, rather than confirmed WT1 injections. Authorities also said they had no confirmed record that anyone had received a WT1 injection.
Officials said documents found during the searches indicated that a local company had supplied WT1 research reagents to medical centres. The Assistant Director of Health said the reagents were intended for research, not human use, and were believed to have been obtained from overseas.
The Department of Health said WT1 had no registration application and lacked safety or clinical data supporting its use in humans. Health officials warned that contamination during manufacture or injection could cause bacterial infection, with potential consequences including fever, inflammation, organ damage or death. These were described as potential risks, not confirmed outcomes in this case.
The relevant advertisements appeared on mainland social-media platforms. Hong Kong authorities asked local companies or health providers to remove them and notified mainland authorities for follow-up. As of the reports supplied, officials had received no reports of adverse reactions or public confirmation that anyone had received the WT1 product.