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Ernakulam ADC files cases against Cadila, Surya for misbranding products

Our Bureau, ChennaiFriday, November 26, 2010, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

The office of the Assistant Drugs Controller of Ernakulam in Kerala has filed cases against two north Indian drug manufacturing companies and one Bangalore based marketing company for violation of Schedule P of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act.

The two north based companies are Cadila Pharmaceuticals of Ahmedabad and Surya Pharmaceuticals of Solan in Himachal Pradesh. Micro Labs of Bangalore, the marketing company for Surya Pharmaceuticals is the other one. Cases pertaining to misbranding drugs have been registered against these pharma companies by the Kerala state drug authority.

Revi S Menon, the ADC of Ernakulam said the companies have printed dates of expiry for their products surpassing the actual period prescribed in the D &C Act. Cadila's amoxicillin dry syrup, Mokan, and the same drug in the brand name of Micromox manufactured by Surya Pharmaceuticals and marketed by Micro Labs have printed a expiry period of 24 months on the label.

The ADC said that as per schedule P of D&C Act, the maximum shelf life for dry syrup is 18 months and the expiry date should have been printed accordingly. But in the cases of both 'Mokan' and 'Micromox', the companies have mentioned 24 months usage with an additional period of 6 months, going beyond the prescribed periods. Menon said the potency of the dry syrup will usually lose after 18 months.

With information received from Idukki district, the assistant drugs controller sent his inspectors to the company offices in Ernakulam and conducted the raid, and subsequently seized many batches of these drugs worth thousands of rupees. Case of 'misbranded drugs' were registered against the manufacturing and marketing companies, and filed it with the Judicial First class Magistrate Court 1 and 2 at Ernakulam.

Jayan Philip, the drug inspector at Ernakulam said the punishment for violation of Schedule P is a jail term of three years and a fine of Rs. 25,000.

 
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