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Kochi police foils attempt by pharma co to re-label drug bottles with long expiry date
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
June 29 , 2016
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On a tip off, the Kochi police have busted the attempt by a Maharashtra
based pharmaceutical company in sticking new labels with long expiry
dates on medicine bottles after tampering the old-ones that showed short
period for date expiry.
The bottles were containing Surgical
Spirit IP, used as antiseptic solution for skin (external use), and were
brought from Nagpur for delivery to the Kerala Medical Services
Corporation at its warehouse in Kochi. The drug bottles were to be
supplied to the government hospitals in Kerala.
Informed by the
police, the drugs control officials seized 300 cartons of plastic
bottles of 500 ml surgical spirit kept in a shop room inside a business
complex at Kalamasseri near Kochi. The shop was not licensed for keeping
drugs, hence a case was taken against the shop owner also.
Various
cases of violations of drugs act have been registered against the
Nagpur company, Adroit Pharmaceuticals private limited, said the
intelligence wing drug inspector of the drugs control department. He
said the police could not arrest anybody involved in the incident of
tampering and re-labeling.
The labels pasted on the bottles
showed an expiry period of next two years. As per the tender conditions
of KMSCL, any pharmaceutical or surgical product must have an expiry
date of three years at the time of delivery. The medical corporation
returned the product on violation of tender conditions by the
manufacturer.
Responding to queries from Pharmabiz, S P Sujith,
the sub inspector at the Eloor police station in Kochi, said on
information received from public that large quantities of alcoholic
spirit were kept in a room inside a business complex near Kalamasseri.
The police party raided the room and found 300 cartons of plastic
bottles filled with spirit, which later came to know that they were
medical products. The police immediately informed the drugs control
department which sent its intelligence wing to the site. The drug
control officials seized the products and cases were taken against the
company under D&C Act.
Sudheer Bhanu, the intelligence wing
drug inspector of the drugs control department said a case was
registered against the shop owner as the premises was not licensed to
keep drugs. According to him, the seized bottles of spirit worth Rs.3
lakhs and the total number of bottles is 6000, and ninety per cent of
them have been re-labeled. The new labels carry the expiry date as
December 2019. After registering case, the seized products were
surrendered before the First Judicial Magistrate Court at Kalamasseri
near Kochi.
Either the drug inspector or the director of the
state drugs control department could not answer questions about the
source of new labels, who directed the vehicle carrying the drugs to
the shop room, whether any company official was accompanied with the
load, if anybody from KMSCL is suspected etc. Officials say the
consignment was taken to the warehouse in a parcel lorry. According to
sources, the manufacturing company will be blacklisted by KMSCL.
Even
though the police is supposed to conduct an enquiry in this case, the
police say that it is entirely a case of the drugs control department.
The drugs control department is conducting enquiries. According to
available reports, the intelligence team of the Kerala drugs control
department is inefficient and there is limitation for investigating
cases on criminal nature.
When contacted a person from Androit
Pharmaceuticals in Nagpur on a number received from their website, said
no such incident happened in Kerala.
The regional drug inspector
in Kochi, Saju John, drug inspectors- P I Joshi and Gladis Keechappalli
were in the investigating team.
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