Pfizer depot suspended after Bengaluru fake drug bust; 16 licences cancelled

The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) has suspended the licences of 16 pharmaceutical companies and cancelled eight others, including Pfizer's depot, in Bengaluru following the seizure of counterfeit drugs. The crackdown, conducted in August, resulted in the seizure of counterfeit medicines worth approximately Rs 5 crore, along with fake bills, filling equipment, and counterfeit labels.

The FSDA claims that the counterfeit drugs were produced by refilling low-cost medications sourced from neighbouring states into new vials and relabeling them with the names of expensive multinational brands, particularly Pfizer products. Health Minister U T Khader stated that Pfizer's operations were suspended due to their refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

The FSDA has blocked the batch numbers of the seized drugs from being sold or distributed further and has sent samples to government laboratories for chemical testing. The agency urges citizens to purchase medications only from licensed pharmacies and to report any suspicious packaging to drug enforcement authorities.