What happened in Hong Kong on 21 October 2026?
On 21 October 2026, Hong Kong's Department of Health (DH) raided four beauty premises, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long. It seized more than 100 vials of suspected Part 1 poisons for injection and more than 70 vials of suspected unregistered pharmaceutical products for injection. Among them were 20 vials of Elravie Re2O, the skin booster people search as RE20, in Korean packaging that claimed to contain human tissue.
A 38-year-old woman was arrested at the Mong Kok premises on suspicion of unlawful possession of Part 1 poisons and unregistered pharmaceutical products, and suspected unlawful commercial dealing in human organs. An arrest is a suspicion. It is not a finding of guilt.
What RE20 is, and what the one published trial found, is set out in RE20 (Elravie Re2O) skin booster: what it is and what the evidence shows.
How does Hong Kong classify RE20?
The DH said the product is a “regulated product” under the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance and a “pharmaceutical product” under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance. In plain words, Hong Kong treats a human-tissue injection as both a human-derived material and a medicine, so two sets of rules apply.
The DH said it had received an exemption application and was processing it, but no exemption had been granted. It also said no registration application had been received for the product as a pharmaceutical product.
What did the Department of Health say about who may inject?
The DH advised that injection procedures are medical procedures and should be performed only by registered medical practitioners or dentists. That is Hong Kong's rule and Hong Kong's advice. It does not govern Malaysia.
What did we find in Malaysia?
Hong Kong's law does not apply here, and the seizure is not a Malaysian ruling on RE20. So we looked at Malaysia's own registers.
On 26 October 2026 we searched the Medical Device Authority (MDA) public register, with data last updated on 25 October 2026, for Re2O, RE20, Elravie, Humedix, L&C and acellular. There was no result for any of them. The same search does list other skin boosters, including Profhilo, Sculptra and Rejuran HB Plus, so the search works. The register's own note says that when an entry does not appear, the device searched is unregistered, expired, suspended or cancelled.
We also searched the NPRA product search, which covers medicines, for the product name Elravie and the maker L&C Bio. No result there either.
So the careful wording is this: on 26 October 2026 we could not find RE20 on Malaysia's medical device register or NPRA's product list. That is a search result, not a legal ruling, and we found no Malaysian ruling on RE20. Some clinics in Malaysia advertise RE20 boosters online, which makes the check below worth doing.
How do I check a product on the MDA register myself?
It takes about a minute.
- Open the public search of the Malaysia Medical Device Register at mdar.mda.gov.my.
- Type the brand name. Try the maker's name too, and any registration number the clinic has given you.
- Read the entry: the product name, the maker or company, the registration number and the validity dates. The dates should cover today.
- Match what you read to the box in front of you: the name, the maker and the number.
- If nothing appears, do not stop there. A different spelling can give a blank, so ask the clinic for the registration number and search that. A product that is a medicine rather than a device sits on the NPRA product search instead.
A registration number looks like GD11766525-217431, the format of the Rejuran HB Plus entry. An entry shows that a product is registered. It does not show that the product works, and it cannot confirm that the box in your hand is genuine. The fuller version is in is my Botox or skinbooster KKM approved, and how to check the product.
Who may inject in Malaysia?
The Ministry of Health's guidelines on aesthetic medical practice say aesthetic medical procedures are done by registered medical practitioners who hold a Letter of Credentialing and Privileging (LCP). Its list includes injected treatments such as botulinum toxin and filler. Beauty therapists and clinic assistants may help under a doctor's supervision. They do not treat. The guide on which aesthetic procedures only a doctor may perform sets out the lists.
A skin booster of any kind is an injection into the skin, so the same two questions apply. Who will do the injection, from start to finish? And is that person on the register? How to check an aesthetic doctor in Malaysia walks through the Malaysian Medical Council and Ministry checks.
Dr Ong's view
Dr Ong, 26 October 2026: “I'm really not sure of the results and I for one feel it's very icky to inject cadaver tissue.”
