Spurious drugs seized in Odisha, people in panic

Swetaparna Published On : Nov 10, 2015 at 11:04 AM Updated On : Nov 10, 2015 at 11:08 AM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 10:

Seizure of 18 varieties of spurious medicines from various places in Odisha during raids by the Directorate of Drugs Control (DDC) has led to panic among the general public and people in pharmaceutical trade.

AIIMS-Bhubaneswar launches Artificial Urinary Sphincter implantation service

Study finds 80 pc microplastics in blood clots behind heart attack, stroke

Though 18 varieties of drugs found to be spurious have been seized in the state during raids by DDC on Sunday, it’s not yet clear on the exact quantity of such drugs that have entered into the state and to which places those have been supplied. According to DDC sources, a clear picture will only emerge on this count after seizures are made in all districts.

These spurious medicines/drugs were detected during checks conducted in Kakatpur area of Puri district in the month of October. T-Citra an antacid formulation was found to be of lower quality than that of the prescribed standards. Following the detection a letter was written to the manufacturer of the formulation, Abhaya Healthcare of Rudrapur area in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on the matter. But it was found that no such manufacturer/company under such name existed there. Later it was found that two pharmaceutical companies Accent Pharma and Ocean Organic of Jaipur, Rajasthan were these drugs.

“Joint raids were conducted by the DDCs of Rajasthan and Odisha. During the raids 69 varieties of spurious drugs were seized in Jaipur and 18 varieties in Odisha. Samples of 18 such drugs have been seized from Cuttack; seven varieties have been seized from Bhubaneswar. These spurious medicines have been supplied to Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur districts. Since the company operated through waybills issued by the Commercial Tax department and bank accounts it was difficult to make out,” said Drugs Controller Hrushikesh Mahapatra.

“No such company exists in the address mentioned by the drug manufacturer. Preliminary investigations have revealed that spurious drugs for treatment of cough, cold, fever and gastritis have entered into Odisha. By now we have seized spurious drugs worth Rs 6,41,583,” said Mohapatra.

Legal action will be taken against the wholesaler who had procured the drugs, he added.

Sources said the same company is supplying such medicines/drugs 12 states which include Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh.