LAHORE: The Punjab government on Wednesday withdrew a batch of 200,000 aspirin tablets from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) after they were found to be contaminated.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Saeed Elahi, while talking to The Express Tribune, confirmed the contamination and called for an immediate withdrawal of the drug from the hospital’s dispensary.
The batch was dispatched to PIC’s dispensary from December 16 to January 12.
Elahi also said that the government had ordered an investigation to find out as to why the medicine was contaminated.
Another spate of panic might start as there is a chance that tablets from this batch might have been sent to other pharmacies in the city.
The fatal medicines have taken 80 lives so far, while the death toll is expected to rise at PIC.
The panic will take some time to subside, as it has emerged that 400-500 patients were given the same medicine at the hospital.
The medicine triggered an unknown disease that is said to get deposited in the bone marrow and ultimately ends the body’s resistance. The generation of white blood cells stops in the body and a severe chest infection also takes place.
The symptoms of the disease include a change in complexion, low platelet count, vomiting blood and a severe chest infection.
FIA raids pharmaceutical company, confiscates raw material
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided the site of one of the pharmaceutical companies which provided medicines to the PIC and confiscated raw material for inspection.
The material seized by the FIA investigating team will be sent to drug testing labs. The material will be compared with that of the samples given by the pharmaceutical company to see if they match or not.
The director of the medicine manufacturer said that the company will extend cooperation and said that he was distressed about the incident.
He said that the material and samples should be evaluated properly and checked if medicines manufactured by his company were behind the deaths.
He claimed that his company was not the only one which provided medicines to the hospital.
The FIA on January 22 arrested the owners of pharmaceutical factories involved in selling contaminated medicines. FIRs were also registered against them on directions of Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
The companies that supplied the medicines include Alfalah Pharma (Pvt) Limited, Mega Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd and Pharmawise Laboratories (Pvt) Ltd.
Contaminated medicines include include Cardiovestin (Simvastatin), Alfagril (Clopidogrel), Concort (Amlodipine) and Soloprin (Asprin). The medicines, consultants have been told, must not be prescribed until a probe into the matter is concluded.
COMMENTS (15)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Very very very sad! But I am glad this has not happened in Balochistan. They would have blamed "PUNJABIS" for it. My condolences with the victims' families.
Well its a federal government whe should be blame for all this since all drug inspectors are working under federal government payrol punjab government camou be blame for as it is the responsibility of current govt
Another Investigation.Another file pending.:s what else we need?:@ #Govt, #fraud, #dramas.
Stop blaming CM it's not a job of CM to oversee pharmaceutical companies.the medical community should take full responsibility and investigate!
It is a shame that we can claim to make hundreds of nuclear bombs and keep a strict control on it but we cannot make the most basic and cheapest Asprin? If we cannot control the quality of basic medications for heart patients who would believe our claims that everything is under control? The hospital may be providing these medicines free but the manufacturer must have been paid.
This news article says that Soloprin (Aspirin) was contaminated. It is the cheapest salt and goes in the tablet in milligram quantity. Who will contaminated or make a Jali Dawa of it. People must understand that the severe reaction already mentioned in the article is not due to simple Aspirin contamination. I am afraid some intentional Biological contamination which can easily done at a place like pharmacy from where it will be distributed to thousands of people. Give up the blaming game and look for the intentions, reason and reactions.
Mr CM .... another feather on your cap. !! After a magnificant "Dengue" performance, punjab goverment "ends another 80 lives"!.. ATLEAST.. PML shoud think that its killing its own voters,,,(RIP Victims)
@gul bahadur: I think your comments are misplaced. How can anyone take appropriate action until the details of the incident are fully exposed. The doctors are blaming the pharma companies, including ones based in Karachi and the pharma companies are blaming the doctors poor prescribing patterns. Until the details are fully documented, I do not expect the local government to take action. Of course they will have to take action in due course to safeguard the public and to prevent such mishaps from recurring. In the West, when medicines are found to be killing patients or causing disease, the drugs are withdrawn and an inquiry takes place. This doesn't happen in 1 week or a few days but recommendations are implemented several months later.
This is my humble request to the leading and the good quality pharma manufacturing companies to please come forward and donate their free of cost supplies to the institutions like PIC and many other. There are many poor patients with cardiac and other chronic diseases and their contribution to this noble cause will certainly go a long way to avoid such incidents in future. I know many pharma companies earning huge profits and must be watching all this happenings to the poor masses.
im doctor, these pharma companies should be banned.
The KHADIM AALA and his law minister are pondering over the matter and will come out with a very plausible explanation soon.Wait till they know the outcome of MEMO.They are extremely busy men and should not be disturbed by such irrelevant issues.Poor people die every day because God has willed so.LONG LIVE THE KINGS.
No one will be punished for this blunder as usual!!
A lesson for the people controlling manufacture and distribution of medicines in the country to check the quality of various products. Some heads must roll in this case to act as a deterrent for future. The corrupt make money and the poor lose their life. The names of manufacturers must be made public and their licences cancelled.