Srinagar, Apr 13: In another revelation in the fake drug scam, investigations have revealed that Jammu-based distributor Life Line Pharmaco had got the spurious medicines meant for Kashmir hospitals manufactured at an Uttarakhand company and then faked the brands of Medley Pharmaceuticals and Affy Pharmaceuticals.
Sources in the Drug Department Jammu revealed to Greater Kashmir that Life Line Pharmaco has managed the manufacture of spurious antibiotic Maximizin-625 by Sanative Pharmaceutical (P) Ltd. in Uttarakhand. The company has used the name of Medley Pharmaceuticals as marketing company of the product and Affy Pharmaceuticals as its manufacturer on the packing, investigations revealed.
Earlier, Assistant Drug Controller Muhammad Younis and Drug Inspector Sameer Ahmed visited Affy Pharmaceuticals in Himachal Pradesh and recorded the statement of its management. “A statement was recorded wherein the management of the company disassociated themselves from the scandal. They gave a written statement that they have never supplied drugs to government hospitals in J&K. There name has been misused,” sources in the department said.
Later on a tiff-off about the manufacturing of these spurious drugs by Sanative Pharmaceutical, Drug Inspector Sanjeev Kumar visited the factory. “He found the pharmaceutical factory locked up. The whole management was missing,” sources said.
Greater Kashmir also learnt from official sources that an FIR has already been registered by Rajasthan Government against the company over the supply of spurious drugs. “The drug racket runs across India. It was managed well by the Life Line Pharmaco in Jammu with the help of officials in Purchasing Committee and Food and Drug Control department. But a crucial ‘mistake’ by the Jammu-based distributor was one of the factors which led to their expose. Medley was mentioned as marketing company of the product on the strip of Maximizin-625 tablets whereas the same was mentioned as manufacturing company in the supply order. It was one of the reasons which led to the suspicion of wrongdoing,” an official related with the probe said. A day before, Controller Drug and Food Organization, Satish Gupta, called a meeting at his office here and sought all reports from deputy drug controller, district officers, drug inspectors and quality analysts of Drug Testing Laboratory.
“He rebuked us over the leakage of details about spurious drugs to media. He took custody of all the important documents. He threatened us of disciplinary action in case further reports about spurious drugs supplied to Kashmir hospitals are leaked to media,” sources privy to the meeting revealed to Greater Kashmir.
Defending his department, Satish Gupta told Urdy daily Kashmir Uzma, “We are being discredited by everyone. Otherwise it was our officers who exposed this racket. We cannot share all details with media as it will hamper the probe. We will come up with all details before the public.”
Fake drugs had come from Uttarakhand, reveals probe
April 14, 2013