Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration has intensified its crackdown on counterfeit and illegally repackaged medicines, with action against 16 pharmacies.
According to TV9 Kannada, a total of 16 drug distribution pharmacy licenses have been cancelled. Eight drug licenses have also been suspended. The action follows officials raiding a farmhouse near Karnataka's Bidadi Toll Gate in August and seizing suspected fake and expired medicines worth nearly Rs 5 crore.
The FDA has also suspended the drug licenses of Pfizer and CMF's warehouse. Officials informed that action is being taken against retail and wholesale medicine outlets, drug samples have been sent to the government lab, and the related drug batches have been blocked on the FDA portal.
Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader earlier mentioned that this network was procuring cheap bulk drugs from manufacturing hubs in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, refilling them into new vials at the Bidadi facility, and relabelling them as premium imported brands of multinational companies, including a top brand, whose counterfeit drugs were meant for patients and ICU wards.
He also recalled that he has written in detail to Union Health Minister JP Nadda seeking the support of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and central regulatory agencies to map this network's supply chain and stop nationwide distribution.
As per News 18, the following are the establishments whose licences were cancelled.
1. M/s Avesco Healthcare — Bengaluru — Wholesale
2. M/s Bangalore Speciality Pharma — Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
3. M/s Bengalurus Speciality Pharma — Museum Road, Bengaluru — Wholesale
4. M/s Patel Medi Trade — Gubbalala, Bengaluru — Wholesale
5. M/s Rajarajeshwari Pharma — Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
6. M/s N.S. Pharma — Hubballi — Wholesale
7. M/s Surya Specialty Pharma — Kumaraswamy Layout, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
8. M/s SWS Pharma — K.G. Halli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
9. M/s Krupa Healthcare — Mavalli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
10. M/s St. Philomena Hospital Drug Centre (Main Pharmacy) — Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
11. M/s Sagar Pharma (Div. of Sagar Healthcare and Diagnostic Services Pvt Ltd) — Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
12. M/s Zymus Pharma — Raghuvanahalli, Bengaluru — Retail
13. M/s Fortune Medical Solutions — BSK 3rd Stage, Bengaluru — Wholesale
14. M/s Excelcare Pharma (Unit of Excelcare Health Alliance Pvt Ltd) — BSK 2nd Stage, Bengaluru — Wholesale
15. M/s Patel Medicals — Padmanabhanagar, Bengaluru — Retail
16. M/s Bangalore Speciality Pharma — Chamarajpet, Bengaluru — Wholesale
8 licences suspended
17. M/s Med Pharma — Doddakammanahalli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
18. M/s Surya Speciality Hospital — Bommasandra, Bengaluru — Wholesale
19. M/s Sagar Pharma (Unit-II) — Tilaknagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
20. M/s Vivantha Pharmaceuticals — Jayanagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
21. M/s Maruthi Medicals — Vijayanagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
22. M/s Viva Pharma — Belagavi — Wholesale
23. M/s Hi-5 Pharma — K.G. Halli, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
24. M/s Pfizer Ltd — Kempanalinganahalli, Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural — Wholesale
