Curbing malpractice: Drug inspectors get greater autonomy to prohibit fake meds

Rested with full authority to register FIRs against producers and sellers of counterfeit drugs.

PESHAWAR: The Quality Control Board of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Wednesday granted full authority to drug inspectors to register FIRs against those found selling and producing counterfeit medicines.

The directions came after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice ordered provincial chief and health ministers to clear the markets of bogus, substandard and unregistered drugs. The court also directed authorities to take action against those found guilty of violation. To this end, the Provincial Quality Control Board of the health department held a meeting on Wednesday upon the directions of Health Secretary Fakhr-e-Alam.



The board, which consists of technicians, scrutinized 42 cases that were sent by drug inspectors under the Drugs Act, 1976.

Counterfeit drugs included Leflox 500mg Batch No 208F09 tablet labeled as manufactured by M/S Getz Pharma Karachi, Indrop-D (Vit-D3) Batch No HP079 labeled as manufactured by M/S Neutro Pharma Lahore, Novidat 500mg Batch No 74K tablet labeled as manufactured by M/Sami Pharmaceutical Karachi, Claforan 0.5gm Batch No WA020 injection and water for injection Batch No WA030, Claforan 1gm Batch No WA005 injection and water for injection Batch No WW022, Aventriax Batch No WA004 injection and water for injection Batch No WA004. The Claforan injections and the water for these injections are labeled as manufactured by M/S Sanofi Aventis Pakistan Ltd, Karachi, but the company has disowned these products.

In addition to these, cases involving expired, substandard or unregistered medicines were referred to the drug court for prosecution.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2013.