With the death toll in the Punjab due to contaminated medicines still on the rise the Sindh health department issued a notification alerting for certain suspected medicines to be removed from all public sector hospitals.
Clear instructions with the names of medicines, their dosage and batch numbers were issued after a meeting which was headed by Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Wednesday.
The Express Tribune has learnt that some private hospitals have also issued internal communications advising practitioners not to prescribe certain medications. These private hospitals include Tabba Heart Institute.
Earlier in the day, the first decisive action in Karachi against chemical and pharmaceutical companies was taken as the FIA suspended the operations of Efroze Chemical Industries Private Limited in Korangi. Under the Drugs Act 1976, production has been suspended for 14 days and 49 kilogrammes of raw materials for the heart medication IsoTab were seized. The company is being investigated for sending tainted medication with high quantities of the anti-malarial, pyrimethamine, to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) while one batch was sent to the Punjab Employees Social Security Hospital (PESSH).
About 9.2 million tablets or 23 batches of IsoTab produced by Efroze Chemicals were seized. Twenty-two batches of the medicine were supplied to the PIC while one batch was sent to PESSH, federal drug inspector Dr Shahid Hussain told The Express Tribune.
Crime Circle Deputy Director Akbar Baloch said several samples including IsoTab 20mg were sent to the Central Drug Testing Laboratory for verification on January 25 and 26. The Central Drug Lab is testing for the dosage of pyrimethamine in Isotab, after test results sent by the Punjab government to a laboratory in London were announced. The results for the tests from the Central Drug Lab are still awaited.
Speaking to the media after a few hours inside the factory on Wednesday, the Crime Circle’s Akbar Baloch said, “The raw materials and reports have been seized so that they cannot be tampered with.”
At the time when the FIA arrived at the factory, the senior most company representative present was senior executive supply chain manager Sabah Mohiuddin. In visible shock after FIA officials announced the 14-day lock-down Mohiuddin said, “The factory has not been sealed but production has been halted for now.” Close to 5pm, employees, most of who are on daily wages, quietly left the premises.
No arrests have been made yet as the drug inspectors first need to complete their tests and if they file a complaint report, the FIA will take action accordingly. “Arrests can only be made once the investigation is complete and the Central Drug Laboratory tests are available,” Baloch added.
Federal drug inspector Abdul Rasool Sheikh said, “Some return samples have been also taken and will be sent for testing.”
However, as an FIR was lodged in Punjab against the company, Baloch confirms that the director and CEO of Efroze Chemicals, Abdullah Feroz, and director for marketing and sales, Nadir Khan Firoz, as well as the director for technical operations, Khurram Munaf, have been put on the Exit Control List. “The interior ministry has also added Mr Mumtaz, Mr Shafi and Mr Sultan on the ECL,” Baloch said.
Speaking to Express News, Abdullah Feroz said he suspected foul play in order to malign the company. According to Feroz, the large quantities of pyrimethamine were stolen from the company in September. No FIR was filed over the incident.
The events unfolded as a follow-up to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s press conference where he announced Efroze Chemicals had been sealed. Journalists were surprised to discover, however, that work was progressing as usual on Wednesday.
Prescribing Isotab
Associate professor for Cardiology at Aga Khan University Hospital, Dr Khawar Kazmi says Efroze Chemicals is just one of the companies making the medicine Isotab. There are other brands as well. According to Kazmi, the problem is not with the actual molecule but only a particular company due to what he believes is a lack of quality control. However, he urges for other brands to be checked as well. “This event was inevitable. If it hadn’t happened now it would have certainly led to more problems.”
Cardiac surgeon at Tabba Heart Institute Dr Khalid Rasheed says IsoTab is “readily available and frequently prescribed”. However, there are many other options which may be used so there is no need for patients to panic.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (7)
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Dr Amir You should first go and check the views you are presenting from a reliable source I truly agree with U.S Mr. Abdullah Feroz is a great gentleman and this is a conspiracy of any disgruntled employee
@ Dr. Amir Khan,do you know blaming without knowing is a big sin!
My question would be when there is no record of receiving that batch and when the company has a different batch No supplied to the hospital how can Punjab Government send a non-registered batch for testing and seal the company on this basis. Efroze Pharma has a clean record for the past 35 years, I as a user of their medicine know that their products of the highest quality and standard.
The fact that its a huge conspiracy against the firm may InshALLAH come in front of the public soon but the thing which is most upsetting is that the people of our country form opinions about things without even knowing anything. The comments above about the company being shut and Mr. Abdullah Feroz be punished. On what basis have you formed the opinion and who gives you the right to pass judgements without knowing any history about the company or the people owning it! The first free of cost BURNS hospital for the poor runs under the presidentship of Mr. Abdullah Feroz, so the millions of dollars you are assuming are in his bank account actually go to the poor. The least we can do for such great people is pray for them! The media should be responsible and rather than trying to earn money over every news, The news must first be confirmed! Also, they should show what the later investigations are showing in favor of the company as a BREAKING NEWS because if people have the right to know, they have the right to know everything!
The batch is not there and the record is not there cause the management of EFROZE was aware of the problem and were trying to hide the same. Its shameful...
Probe teams are facing difficulties due to missing purchase record of injurious PIC drug Isotab.
According to the sources, Pakistan Institute of Cardiology administration gave order of 2 million Isotab tablets to Efroze Pharma in September 2011. As per record of PIC, the delivery of 2 million tablets was shown in two batches i.e. J092 and J095 from which there were received 1.05 million tablets of batch J092 and 0.95 million tablets of batch J095.
Surprisingly, the tablets recovered from the patients, affected from contaminated medicines, were of batch J093 but there is no record of this batche in the PIC neither any lab test has been conducted of this batch.
The tablets sent by the Punjab government for foreign test were also from batch J093 but there was no stamp of hospital on it.
According to sources investigation teams are facing difficulties due to missing record of batch J093
Citizen, today and tomorow all the arrests will be made cause the results came from the central lab.
I am highly disappointed to read ,
"CM announced Efroze Chemicals had been sealed. Journalists were surprised to discover, however, that work was progressing as usual on Wednesday"
120 lives worth NOTHING.