Counterfeit medicine targeted by operation in SP is the same one recommended to Pope Leo XIV; report found only sodium and chlorine in the bottle

The chemical analysis, carried out by the forensic laboratory of the manufacturer MSD, did not find the active ingredient or any other pharmaceutical substance in the solution. There was only sodium and chlorine. According to the hospital, a dose of the counterfeit product was administered to a patient.

The report is part of the Operation Laziosi investigation, which led to the arrest of three people this Thursday (5). As g1 showed, the group is suspected of selling counterfeit medicines for cancer treatment in the state.

Keytruda is approved for at least 19 types of tumors, such as lung, melanoma, kidney, head and neck, stomach and esophagus. It is mainly indicated for advanced cases or to prevent cancer from returning after surgery. This is the case of Pope Leo XIV, who must undergo treatment for at least three years after removing a lung tumor.

In Brazil, the medicine is sold for more than R$20,000 per bottle. In the SUS, it is only offered for advanced melanoma, and thousands of patients go to court to access it.

Unlike chemotherapy, which attacks tumor cells, pembrolizumab acts on the immune system. It belongs to the class of PD-1 inhibitors, one of the most recent bets in oncology.

Many tumors protect themselves with the help of a protein called PD-L1, which works as a brake on defense cells. When they encounter this protein, they no longer recognize cancer as a threat.

Therefore, the presence of PD-L1 in tumor cells is one of the markers that doctors use to indicate treatment. This is the case of Pope Leo XIV, for example.

The response tends to be stronger in tumors that accumulate many genetic changes, the so-called high mutational load. The more mutations, the more visible the tumor becomes to the body's defenses.

In the case of Leo XIV, the 2.5-centimeter adenocarcinoma was removed in surgery on October 13, and tests showed no cancer cells in other regions of the body. Immunotherapy would have the function of reducing the risk of the tumor returning.