Traces of glass found in injections

DRAP tells pharmaceutical firms to recall hazardous batches

ISLAMABAD:

Injections manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies have been found to have been manufactured with substandard materials while particles of glass were also found in several injections which could prove to be hazardous for those to whom they are administered.

The presence of the substandard injections came to light after the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on Friday issued a medical product alert.

The alert said that the authority had some injections tested at the Central Drug Laboratory in Karachi. The tests, it said found products manufactured by companies in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, including Xylop one per cent and Oxiphin one per cent, were found to contain dangerous contents including glass particles.

It said that the injections were substandard and adulterated. The authority directed the pharmaceutical companies which manufacture these injections to immediately recall them. “These products should be withdrawn by sellers, retailers and distributors from sale points and an implementation report should be submitted to DRAP within seven days,” read the alert.

Pharmacies sealed The Rawalpindi District Health Authority on Friday sealed two pharmacies for violating the Drug Act 1976. Teams from the district drug control unit, headed by Dr Naveed Anwar, conducted surprise raids on medical stores in Rawalpindi city and Kahuta areas.

During the raid, he found two stores which were involved in the sale of medicines without license and warranty. The teams sealed the Al Rehman medical store in Kahuta and the Al-Dawat Pharmacy in Rawalpindi. The store closed in Rawalpindi is located opposite to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital and did not have a valid record of medicines. The authority sent the cases to the district magistrate for violating the Drugs Act 1976, for further proceedings.

 

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP