Last week, Directorate of Drug Control, Kerala ordered the state based Kunnath Pharmaceuticals to stop production and marketing of its widely advertised Musli Power Xtra. The company has been marketing the product throughout the country and abroad claiming to cure infertility both in men and women. The product was said to be formulated from Safed Musli (Chlorophytum Borivilianum) known as herbal aphrodisiac. Approval for the production of Musli Power Xtra was given for a formulation in which the main ingredient was to be the seed of 'Nilappana' (Curculigo orchioides). But the company has been producing the formulation with Safed Musli as the main ingredient for which no permission was granted as it was not listed in the Indian pharmacopoeia at the time of issuing the license. Now, Kunnath Pharmaceuticals seems to have been violating not only the Drugs & Cosmetics Act for substituting the sanctioned ingredient but also the Magic Remedies Act as products with medical claims are not to be advertised in public media. The company has been advertising the product in major national dailies and prominent television channels for years. Last week, there was another report in the media about a racket of Munir Khan selling a concoction, Body Revival, claiming to cure cancer, paralysis, blockage in arteries, etc in Mumbai. Many innocent people have been buying the product at a price around Rs 16,000 per bottle falling prey to heavy advertisement campaign in visual and print media.
Similar instances of selling products with unsubstantiated medical claims have been brought to light in the past as well. Some pharmaceutical manufacturers and multi level marketing companies are already selling products with curative claims through their nationwide networks. Some such overseas marketing companies like Conybio, Amway and 4Life Research USA, to name a few, are operating in the country and selling several products through multi level marketing route despite actions against them in the past by local drug authorities. They are marketing the products claiming to cure serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer, blood pressure, spondylitis, paralysis, etc. Regular use of such products without proven medical benefits could be dangerous to unsuspecting customers. Any product with therapeutic claims has to be clinically tested in the country before it is approved for marketing. A key advantage to these companies is that these products are not visible in the market place to attract the attention of regulatory authorities. Secondly, it is not very clear to regulatory officials whether these products are coming under the definition of drugs or medical devices as per the provisions of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act. And the office of the Drug Controller General of India has not made any serious attempt to make a survey of such products and collect their samples to verify their efficacy claims so far. There has been no control on their exaggerated and misleading claims in the campaign contents of these products. Thousands of common men are falling prey to this kind of unethical trade practices in the absence of an effective law or timely action on the part of the Central government. What is therefore required is a comprehensive legislation for monitoring the marketing practices of products with false medical claims with provisions for stringent punishment for such offenders. It is high time the Union ministry of consumer affairs and the consumer activists also got involved in this fight against exploitation of common men.