HYDERABAD: The seizure of non-standard quality (NSQ) and spurious drugs have risen 173 per cent, TS Drug Control Authority (DCA) Director-General V.B. Kamalasan Reddy said on Tuesday. The DCA in the last 11 months have seized spurious drugs worth more than Rs 7.80 crore, he said.
Spurious are a major threat to public health, he said in a statement. According to the WHO, an estimated one in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified, Kamalasan Reddy said.
“The situation of spurious drugs moving in the market is scary and everyone could be a victim,” Kamalasan Reddy said and added that the TS DCA was working prevent this.
Kamalasan Reddy said the vigilance cell of the TS DCA, which he oversees, detects clandestine drug manufacturing activities. Risk-based inspections are carried out on the basis of the compliance history of the manufacturer.
He said 19 manufacturing units were covered under joint risk-based inspections along with Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the Union health ministry.
Scary picture
The TS DCA has carried out several raids, exposing several irregularities this year
Jan. 4: Unlicensed manufacture of medicine found at Rakshit Drugs, Bonthapally, 236 kgs of ‘diacerein’ worth Rs 50.25 lakh seized.
Jan. 9: Unit manufacturing spurious ‘mehendi’ using carcinogenic picramic acid seized at Mehdipatnam.
Jan. 11: Rs 5.9 lakh worth drugs seized at Mancherial for violation of drugs price control order.
Jan. 18: Rs 20.52 lakh worth drugs seized from unlicensed godown at Amberpet, Hyderabad. Medicines marked ‘Telangana Government Supply Drugs’ also seized.
Rs 5 lakh worth insulin injections, stored at room temperature, seized from Sree Raja Rajeshwara Medical Distributors, Kapra.
Jan. 19: Rs 10 lakh worth medicines seized from pharmacy of Iswarya Fertility Centre at Malakpet. Its officials showed a fake licence to the DCA.
