Agencies | Bengaluru:
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FDA) has cancelled the licences of 16 pharmacies and suspended eight others in connection with an alleged spurious drug racket uncovered at a farmhouse in Bidadi.
The action follows an August 18 raid by the FDA’s Drug Enforcement Wing at a farmhouse in Kurubarakeranahalli, Bidadi, where officials seized counterfeit medicines, packaging material, forged labels and drug-filling machinery with an estimated value of Rs 5.05 crore.
According to the FDA, preliminary investigations indicate that low-cost medicines procured from other states were allegedly being refilled into new vials and relabelled as expensive life-saving medicines of multinational brands.
The seized material included products carrying forged Pfizer labels. The department also found that QR and scanning codes printed on the suspected counterfeit labels were non-functional.
Among the medicines seized were 5,640 vials of CEFIAVIGENT 2.5 injection, 1,531 vials of HIZLAM injectables and 264 vials of EMBLAVEO carrying Pfizer labels, besides other injectable medicines.
Officials also recovered 30 boxes of expired drugs, injection-filling equipment, forged labels and stamps.
Samples of the seized medicines have been sent to a government laboratory for testing their chemical composition, sterility and potency.
The FDA said action has been taken against 24 drug licences in total — 16 cancelled and eight suspended — covering wholesalers and retailers allegedly linked to the supply or sale of the spurious medicines.
The cancelled licences include:
- Avesco Healthcare, Bengaluru
- Bangalore Speciality Pharma, Shivaji Nagar and Chamarajpet, Bengaluru
- Bengalurus Speciality Pharma, Museum Road, Bengaluru
- Patel Medi Trade, Gubbalala
- Rajarajeshwari Pharma, Rajarajeshwari Nagar
- N.S. Pharma, Hubballi
- Surya Specialty Pharma, Kumaraswamy Layout
- SWS Pharma, K.G. Halli
- Krupa Healthcare, Mavalli
- St. Philomena Hospital Drug Centre, Bengaluru
- Sagar Pharma, Bengaluru
- Zymus Pharma, Raghuvanahalli
- Fortune Medical Solutions, BSK 3rd Stage
- Excelcare Pharma, BSK 2nd Stage
- Patel Medicals, Padmanabhanagar
The suspended licences include Med Pharma, Surya Speciality Hospital, Sagar Pharma Unit-II, Vivantha Pharmaceuticals, Maruthi Medicals, Viva Pharma, Hi-5 Pharma and Pfizer Ltd’s C&F Depot at Kempanalinganahalli in Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural.
The FDA has blocked the relevant drug batch numbers on its portal to prevent further sale and distribution of the suspected spurious medicines.
Criminal proceedings have also been initiated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The department has classified the medicines as spurious under Section 17B, while offences relating to their manufacture, sale, stocking or distribution attract action under Section 27 of the Act.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is continuing the probe to trace the wider supply chain and identify others allegedly involved in the racket.
Health Minister U T Khader said the investigation had uncovered what he described as a large-scale network and that authorities were examining links to other states.
Khader said the government would take action against those found involved, irrespective of their size or status.
“We have detected a large-scale network. We have also traced the network in other states. Whoever they are, no matter how big they are, we will not spare anyone,” he said.
The minister also said medicines supplied to government hospitals were safe and that further details would be made public after the SIT submits its report.
The FDA has advised consumers to purchase medicines only from licensed pharmacies and insist on valid bills. It has also urged people to report suspicious packaging, labels or QR codes that fail to scan to the drug enforcement authorities.
The investigation remains underway, and the allegations against the pharmacies and other entities will be subject to the findings of the probe and due legal process.
