The ability of the Irish Medicines Board to investigate the unauthorised sale of medicines such as Cherrydex - the subject of a public warning this week - has been hampered by the absence of an investigator until three months ago.
The board was established in 1996 to regulate the sale and distribution of medicines and drugs. However, it has only one full-time investigator and he has only been appointed in the past three months. As a result, the public has been left unprotected for lengthy periods against potentially damaging products.
These include products manufactured by Cherryfield Herbal Company at Ballysimon Road in Limerick and which, the IMB has now established, contain corticosteroids. They were sold to treat eczema and other skin conditions. Used in sufficient quantities, they can stunt the growth of children and can cause other serious side-effects.
Mr Donie Walsh, the man most closely identified with Cherryfield Herbal Company, appeared last October at Uxbridge Magistrates Court for alleged breaches of regulations concerning Cherrydex cream and for allegedly obtaining money by deception. Yet it was not until this week that the Irish Medicines Board warned the public about Cherrydex and other products (Cherrydex Cream, Practagel, Psor-st, Eczema 1 and Eczema 2) marketed by Mr Walsh at "clinics" in hotels and by post.
The warning about Cherrydex and other products was first placed in the Irish Medical Times but appeared in national newspapers yesterday and today.
e-mail: pomorain@irish-times.ie Weblink: www.imb.ie (Irish Medicines Board)