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The state administration has launched the biggest and most aggressive campaign ever against the illegal black trade of fake medicines, substandard medical products and substandard cosmetics in Maharashtra. Special enforcement teams of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have broken the back of drug mafia and unauthorized sellers by conducting two weeks of sweeping raids and intensive inspection campaign across the state. After being found in blatant disregard of regulatory rules and health standards, FDA has permanently canceled the drug licenses of 29 establishments, while the licenses of 71 other medical stores and units have been suspended with immediate effect. During this statewide operation, officials have seized and sealed suspicious, illegal and counterfeit medicines and cosmetics worth more than ₹28.52 lakh. This surgical strike by FDA against medical store operators, blood banks and drug manufacturers who are playing with public health has created huge chaos in the entire pharmaceutical business world.
According to the official statement issued by Maharashtra FDA, 937 pharmaceutical establishments across the state were taken under the ambit of this two-week long mega-inspection campaign. These included retail medical stores, wholesale distributors, drug manufacturing units, blood banks and drug testing laboratories. Shocking administrative and technical negligence came to light during the investigation, after which the department served strict show cause notices to 450 institutions that flouted the rules. Of these alone, 382 notices have been issued to drug sellers, where huge lapses were found in the sale of scheduled drugs without valid prescription, distribution of medicines without a pharmacist and maintenance of expired medicines. In direct violation of the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 22 licenses were completely canceled and an order was issued to suspend 49 licenses, sending a clear message that playing with the lives of patients will not be tolerated at any cost.
The scope of the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation was not limited to general medical stores, but extended to life-saving blood centers and medical device manufacturing sites. FDA’s high-level technical teams conducted surprise inspections of drug, cosmetic and medical device manufacturers’ facilities, authorized blood centers, blood storage units, and accredited drug testing laboratories. During the investigation, a thorough investigation was done to find out whether the cold chain maintenance and temperature standards required for storage of medicines and vaccines were being followed properly or not. At many places, beauty creams, lotions and cosmetic products were being manufactured without valid manufacturing licenses, which were suspected to be adulterated with banned chemicals. The authorities have seized all these illegal cosmetic lots and sent them for lab testing to prevent harm to the skin and health of common consumers.
During this intensive operation, a dangerous and illegal drug racket was also trapped in the joint net of FDA and local police in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. In an action taken on the basis of intelligence in the city, two people were caught red-handed while illegally purchasing and smuggling 34 tablets of psychotropic drug ‘Nitrazepam’. The drug is usually prescribed under the strict supervision of doctors to treat serious mental disorders and insomnia, but addicts were using it as an illicit drug. Considering the seriousness of the case, the police have registered an FIR against both the accused under non-bailable sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and sent them to jail. The investigating agencies are now trying to get to the bottom of the matter from which wholesale dealer or medical store this consignment of banned medical medicines was supplied to the accused.
Top officials of Maharashtra FDA have bluntly warned that the campaign started against the sale of counterfeit medicines, unauthorized cosmetics and illegal drugs is not going to stop here. All divisional and district offices in the state have been instructed to keep a close watch on sensitive areas, pharmacies around hospitals and cosmetics markets. Consumers have also been appealed to ensure that they take a valid bill while purchasing any medicine or cosmetic product from any medical store and if there is any doubt about the quality of any medicine, they should immediately lodge a complaint on the official portal or helpline number of FDA. This strict stance of the Food and Drug Administration is to ensure that only safe, certified and life-saving medicines are available in the market and that public trust is not harmed in any way.