Expired medicine, products bearing forged MNC labels, injection vials worth ₹3.38 crore seized in Bengaluru
The seizure has brought under scrutiny the alleged practice of repacking lower-cost medicines and relabelling them as expensive products, including carrying the labels of multinational pharmaceutical companies
In a significant operation, authorities in Bengaluru seized ₹3.38 crore worth of expired and forged medicine. The Drug Enforcement Wing of the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration made the seizure from an unlicensed drug repacking unit near Bidadi, on the outskirts of the city, on Tuesday, August 18. The seized stock included 5,640 vials of CEFIAVIGENT 2.5 Injection, 1,531 vials of HIZLAM Injectables, 30 boxes of expired medicines, and 264 vials of EMBLAVEO.
The total value of the seized material amounted to ₹4,91,49,575. The facility was found to be engaged in repacking lower-cost medicines and relabelling them as expensive products, including those of multinational pharmaceutical companies. Health Minister U.T. Khader stated that the investigation will focus on whether the expired medicines were reintroduced into the supply chain.
Offences related to the manufacture, sale, stocking, or distribution of spurious drugs are punishable under Section 27 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, with penalties ranging from a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment.
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