In a series of actions against illegal manufacturing of drugs in the state, the Andhra Pradesh Drug Control Administration (APDCA) has seized drugs, finished and semi-finished goods, labels and packaging equipment worth around Rs 5 crore.

In an inspection carried out by APDCA officials on the city-based Herbopharm Laboratories, drugs, finished and semi-finished goods, labels and packaging equipment worth Rs 4.65 crore were seized by the drug control department. The manufacturing of drugs was for export purposes, but the company was carrying out the production activity without valid licence and there were no technical experts in the production unit.

The seized material includes sildenafil citrate tablets both 50 mg and 100 mg under the brand name Navogra and Navogra Forte respectively, and Lansoprazole capsules 30 mg with brand name Lancod-30.

In another action, the APDCA has seized bulk drugs worth about Rs 12 lakh from Vishnu Chemicals in Hyderabad for manufacturing medicines without a valid licence. The drugs that were illegally manufactured by Vishnu Chemicals at unauthorised premises included Losartan Potassium, Drolaverin Hcl, Rabeprazole Sodium and Sodium Sacharin.

R P Meena, director general of APDCA, informed that drugs worth around 12 lakhs were seized by the department in an operation against the illegal manufacturing of drugs in the state. The drugs, Losartan Potassium, Drolaverin Hcl, Rabeprazole Sodium and Sodium Sacharin, were illegally manufactured by Vishnu Chemicals at unauthorised premises in Hyderabad.

It was also found that the company did not obtain any licence to store the drugs at its Jeedimetla premises, he said. The seized drugs were used in the formulations for treating hypertension, pains, ulcer and for artificial sweetening.

The department following a report from the Maharashtra State Drug Controller on April 3 2007 carried out the inspection. In its report, the Maharashtra administration declared that the drug namely Sodium Sacharin B.P., Batch no.552210107 as of "not of standard quality" (NOS) which were sold to Mediorals in Satara and to Cipla in Pune in Maharashtra. A recall team had collected 100 kg of Sodium Saccharin BP from a dealer in Maharashtra.

The firm is supposed to manufacture and sell the drugs from the premises of Hyderabad-based Prudential Pharmaceuticals Limited on loan licence basis. The investigations revealed that Prudential is not manufacturing the drugs for Vishnu Chemicals since April, 2005.

The entire drugs were frozen and samples were sent to Drug control laboratory for analysis. The results of the analysis on these drugs, except on Sodium Sacharin, are expected soon. Currently, the case is under investigation, Meena said.

In yet another action on well-known drug company Hetero Drugs, the APDCA has slapped a show cause notice for certain violations related to non-compliance of Schedule-M. The department has sealed the production area of the company.

However, the company has been permitted to reopen the premises to help the manufacturers to renovate their unit. But, they were asked not to manufacture any product until they proved their capability to adhere to Scheduled-M, Meena added.