Counterfeit med: State mandates QR code scan of a high BP drug
Kolkata: As part of its crackdown on counterfeit medicine, the state government has issued multiple directives. In this effort, the Directorate of Drugs Control under the state Health department has instructed all public and private hospitals, as well as retailers, to scan the QR code of a high blood pressure drug before dispensing it to patients.
This comes after a counterfeit version of the drug, bearing the same batch number as the original, was recently seized.
Scanning the QR code of a fake medicine, even with the same batch number as the original, will display “could not be verified.” The counterfeit drugs had identical batch numbers to the genuine ones.
In a directive issued on Monday, the Health Department instructed wholesale and retail chains to sell this specific batch of medicine only after verifying the QR code.
A fake QR code bearing the name of a renowned pharmaceutical company was used. On February 21, state Drug Control officials raided the company’s Amta-based godown, seizing counterfeit medicines worth Rs 17 lakh from Manna Agency.
The Directorate of Drugs Control submitted a report on fake medicines, stating that Telma AM 40, a high blood pressure drug by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., is under scrutiny for potential black marketing.
The manufacturer in reply to a letter sent to them in this regard informed the directorate in detail about its manufacturing process.
The batch number of the counterfeit medicine is identical to the batch number of the original medicine. The batch number of the fake medicines was 05240367. As the same batch number was used for the counterfeit medicines, it increased confusion among people. The QR code of a blood pressure medicine of a renowned pharmaceutical company was found forged recently and it was brought to the notice of the state drugs control department.
An investigation revealed that the substandard medicine was brought from Bihar, and a pharmaceutical supply company, Manna Agency of Amta, supplied them to various districts of the state.
Counterfeit life-saving medicines worth around Rs 6.5 crore were recovered from Kolkata earlier as well. It was also learnt that around 44 types of substandard medicines have spread across the country, which contain sadulterated ingredients.
The state Health department has decided to pay surprise visits to the fair price medicine shops of all the government run hospitals to examine the quality of medicines.
Senior Health officials recently held a virtual meeting with the chief medical officer of health (CMoH) in all the districts in this regard. It was made clear by the Health department that zero tolerance has been taken as far as fake medicine circulation is concerned and stringent action will be taken, a senior health official said.
