All medicinal products in Malaysia, including imported medicines, must be registered with the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) before they can be sold or marketed to consumers. Registered products are guaranteed in terms of Safety, Quality and Efficacy. Registered medicines must carry both registration numbers (ie MAL20125467T) and Meditag Hologram labels on its label or packaging. A valid registration number begins with “MAL”, followed by 8-digit numbers and ends with an alphabet to indicate their registration category. The categories of registered product are as follows:
A – Controlled medicines
X – Over the counter medicines (OTC)
T – Natural Products/ Traditional Medicines
N – Health Supplements
H - Veterinary Products
In addition, there may be administrative codes used by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency after the product category. The administrative code is:
C – Contract Manufactured (the product is manufactured by a GMP certified contract manufacturer)
E – For Export Only (FEO) (the product is to be sold for export only and not for sale in the local market)
R – Packed and/or repacked (the product is packed and/or repacked by an approved GMP certified packer and/or repacker)
S – Second source (the product is from a second source/ approved second manufacturer)
Y – Orphan products
Z – Products gazetted as zero-rated under the Goods and Services Tax Act 2014, Goods and Services Tax (Zero-Rated Supplies) Order 2014.
Users can check the registration status of a product through the https://www.npra.gov.my / OR by contacting the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency at 03-78835400.
In that website you can click on the 'Product Search' icon. Search for registered products can be done using:
• Product Name
• Registration Number
• Registration Holder Name
• Active Ingridient
• Manufacturer / Importer Name
If the product is a registered product, the registration status will be displayed. After checking the registration number, you are advised to check the validity of the hologram label through a pharmacist at nearby hospital, clinic or pharmacy.
In addition, people can also download the NPRA Product Status application from the Google Play Store to check the status of their product registration.