A woman has been arrested after authorities seized 20 vials of a South Korean ‘anti-aging’ product called Elravie Re2O, which purportedly contains purified human skin from deceased donors.

The Department of Health said the vials were taken during a raid on a premise in Mong Kok. The suspect, 38, was arrested on suspicion of possessing unregistered pharmaceutical products and suspected unlawful commercial dealing in human organs.

"The product concerned lacks clinical safety data and poses potential public health risks”, the Controller for Regulatory Affairs of the Department of Health, Dr Fung Ying, said in a statement.

She said the product, which is meant to be administered via injection, is classified as a regulated product under the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance and is also a pharmaceutical product under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.

While the health department has received an application for exemption for Elravie Re2O as a regulated product, it is being processed and no exemption has been granted so far. No application has been received to register the injectable as a pharmaceutical product, Fung added.

The arrest and seizure come as part of a larger series of raids targeting premises suspected of providing injection treatments involving unregistered pharmaceutical products.

Four beauty treatment centres were raided in total in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long since Friday last week. Over 170 vials of suspected Part 1 poisons or unregistered pharmaceutical products were seized.

The Department of Health said apart from the case involving Elravie Re2O, other cases involving the alleged sale of non-exempted "regulated products" in contravention of the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance have been referred to the police for follow-up action.

Fung reminded members of the public that injection procedures are medical procedures and should only be performed by registered medical practitioners or registered dentists, adding that people shouldn’t assume injections marketed as cosmetic treatments aren’t risky.



Edited by Cecil Wong