Fake Anti-Hypertension Drugs: FIR Lodged Against Two Wholesalers in Odisha

Cuttack: An FIR has been lodged against two medicine wholesalers in the city here in connection with the sale of spurious drugs for the treatment of high blood pressure.

The Drugs Inspector has lodged the FIR at Purighat police station here after pharmaceutical major Glenmark clarified that it had not manufactured the anti-hypertension drugs—Telma-40 and Telma-AM—seized from several drugstores from the Silver City and many other places in Odisha.

Notably, the Drug Control Administration of Health and Family Welfare department had raided several drugstores in seven districts of Odisha amid allegations of sale of spurious drugs for treating patients with high blood pressure.

As per the allegation, counterfeit drugs in the brand names of popular anti hypertension drugs — Telma-40 and Telma-AM — had been sent to around 1,000 drugstores in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Balasore and several other places in the state.

The officials of the Drug Control Administration had raided drugstores at 12 places in Cuttack including Manikghosh Bazar, Badambadi, Bankabazar and Mangalabag. The officials had seized cartons of aforementioned drugs worth over Rs 30 lakh from various drugstores. They had sent the samples of the seized drugs for laboratory tests.

Subsequently, the Directorate of Drugs Control Odisha had directed immediate recall of the two particular drugs meant for treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease.

In a letter to all manufacturers and suppliers, the office of the Drugs Inspector Bhubaneswar-IV Range ordered recall of Telma-40 (Telmisartan Tablets I.P. 40 mg) of batch no 18211055 manufactured in March 2022 (Expiry date – February 2025), and Telma-AM of batch no 18220083 manufactured in February 2022 (Expiry date – January 2025) manufactured by M/s Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.  The order was issued under the Enforcement of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules thereunder.

“With reference to the subject cited above, you are instructed to stop the sale and purchase of above mentioned drug and return back all the drugs to the supplier with immediate effect under intimate to this office. This may be treated as most important,” the letter read.