Duplicate BP Drugs: Glenmark Denies Production, FIR Filed Against 2 Distributors In Cuttack

Bhubaneswar: Following raids by the Directorate of Drugs Control, Odisha, on medicine shops in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for sale of duplicate Telma-40 and Telma-AM related to high blood pressure and heart diseases, pharmaceutical company Glenmark has stated that the seized drugs were not manufactured by the company.

In a reply to the Directorate, Glenmark has stated that the specific batch of the two medicines that were seized during the raids was not produced by the company. The Directorate had sent the batch number and other details of the medicines to the company and asked it to mention the components of both medicines descriptively.

Following the company’s clarification, Drug Inspector Tusha Ranjan Panigrahi has filed an FIR at Purighat police station in Cuttack against two medicine distributors of Jaunliapati for allegedly supplying duplicate medicines. The distributors, VR Drug Agency and Puja Enterprises, had procured the spurious drugs from Bengaluru and Gaya and supplied those to more than 100 retailers, the FIR stated.

The Drug Inspector has sought action under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 against the two medicine distributors. A case has also been filed in the SDJM Court, Cuttack in this regard, sources said.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that the two wholesalers purchased the spurious medicines for around Rs 50 lakh from a firm in Gaya,” the Times of India quoted drugs controller Subodh Kumar Nayak as saying.

It may be noted that a team from the Directorate of Drugs Control conducted raids on multiple locations under Purighat police limits in Cuttack on Thursday for allegedly selling duplicate medicines. A day after, several teams from the Directorate carried out raids at various medicine stores in Bhubaneswar.

The team conducted raids at 12 places, including Manikaghosh Bazaar, Badambadi, Banka Bazaar, and Mangalabag, after receiving a tip-off about fake medicines related to high blood pressure and heart diseases being sold by stockists here.

They recalled and seized the drugs of two fake brands worth Rs 30 lakh. There is no clarity about the rest medicines worth Rs 20 lakh, they said. “While a part of the consignment was sold in other states, some were sold in Odisha,” said Dharmadev Puhan, an assistant drugs controller in Cuttack.

Samples of Telma 40 and Telma-AM medicines were collected and sent for laboratory tests. The manufacturing company has also been asked to mention the components of both medicines descriptively.

Also Read: Sale of ‘Fake’ BP Medicines: After Cuttack, Raids On Bhubaneswar Shops