Rajahmundry: Several pharmaceutical firms are manufacturing drugs of sub-standard and even spurious quality and are resorting to violation of a series of norms in the state.
The drug control administration authorities in East Godavari have booked as many as 25 cases against the pharma firms for manufacturing drugs “not of standard quality” in the last three years and in the recent past nearly five such cases were booked. They are proceeding legally against these firms after booking cases under various provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Some of the firms booked include: GMH Laboratories, Baddi of Himachal Pradesh for making drug “Rabikul-D”. Hyderabad based Maverin Sciences for making drug “Suncid-MTS” and also Ongole-based firm Sunrise Pharma Industries for making drug “Mythyl Ergo Metrin”.
Earlier, the DCA autho-rities booked cases agai-nst the pharma firms for preparing Ayurvedic pr-oducts with false claims that they will cure health problems like rheumatoid arthritis and obesity under the provisions of Drugs and Magic Remed-ies (Objectionable Adver-tisements) Act, 1954.
The DCA authorities booked three pharmaceutical firms for flouting the norms of Drug Price Control Order, 2013 in West Godavari, recently. An anti-inflammatory drug “Prednisolone” used as a pain killer was being sold at '2 against the government notified price of 90 paise. The Sun Life Pharma located at Solan in Himachal Pradesh, Gopish Pharma Limited at Roorkee in Uttarkhand and Seeko Biotics at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh were booked.
The violations of the pharma firms are many as they intend to make good money by exploiting the ignorance of patients. Some firms are making drugs in the name of reputed pharma companies even without their knowledge presuming that their drugs will also be sold on the lines of the reputed firm.
For instance, Hydera-bad-based firm Akira Pharmaceuticals started making Amoxicillin capsules in the brand name of the reputed firm. But the DCA authorities fou-nd the drug made by the benami firm to be spurious and booked a case ag-ainst the firm at Tanuku in West Godavari.
Patients who are using drugs regularly for chronic ailments complain that drugs of the same formula are being priced differently by the various firms.
In the aftermath of bifurcation of the state, the central drug testing laboratory located in Hyderabad has gone to Telangana while AP is asked to develop the existing one in Vijayawada. If the DCA authorities lift more drug samples and send them for analysis promptly, more firms will be found making either substandard or spurious drugs.
Child specialist Dr A. Venkata Rao said, “As more pharma firms are coming up, we recommend the drugs of only standard firms to patients even if the drugs are a bit costly.”
East Godavari DCA assistant director T.S.R. Murthy said, “We lift the samples of drugs from various sources at periodic intervals and send them for testing and based on the report, we will book cases and proceed legally against the erring firms.”
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