Karnataka has a total of 829 drugs of sub-standard quality and 92 spurious drugs circulating in the retail outlets since last three years. These products are in the market, as the State drugs control department has no intention of withdrawing them from the market.

This was disclosed by M.N.Ramamurthy, assistant drug controller during the interrogations here before the Lok Ayukta in connection with the drug scam that rocked the State in March 2003.He said that of the 829 drugs of sub-standard quality, drug content was less than 70 per cent and in the case of 92 spurious drugs, there was no medicine content at all.

In 2002-2003, a total of 259 drug products were found to be of sub-standard quality and 24 were spurious.

Though the matter was brought to the notice of the drugs controller, R Anand Rajashekar, no action was initiated and patients who have taken some of these products had fatal reactions.

As per the instructions of the drugs controller general of India (DGCI) prosecutions should have been launched in all the 92 cases of spurious drugs, which were detected but the drugs controller launched prosecutions only against four drugs, he informed.

Sources informed Pharmabiz.com that the four spurious drugs were seized from a wholesaler in Mangalore. They are: Chloramphenical manufactured by the KAPL, Tetracycline by SOL, Ampicillin by US Vitamins and Economic Pharmaceuticals. All four pharma companies manufacturing these spurious products have given a written statement that they did not manufacture any of the drugs claimed in the invoice.

Ramamurthy informed the name of the B R Jugashetty, assistant drugs controller who received complaints in connection with the complications developed in patients in Bangalore. The patients purchased the drugs from the Beepi Medicals near Shanbhag Nursing Home in Bangalore. No action was taken against the medical outlet.

Ramamurthy also produced a list of the drugs that were entering the Karnataka market with the approval of the drugs control officials. These are: Chloramphenical capsules (batch numbers: 171, 172, 181 and 183), Ampycillin capsules, (batch number 101 and 188), Cloxacillin capsules batch no 26) and Tetracycline 500mg capsules (batch no.57) manufactured by Praveen Pharma, Mumbai. Tetracycline 500mg capsules (batch no. CI 050) manufactured by Sunny Drugs, Silvassa. Ofloxacin tablets (batch no. TD 02) manufactured by Mediways Pharma Faridabad. Tetracycline 500mg capsules (batch no. 021), Dexamethasone 5 mg tablets (batch no. 145), Cotrimaxazole tablets (batch no. 048) manufactured by British Pharma Labs, Vapi Oxcytetracycline 250 mg capsules (Batch no. 0160) by Serpin Pharma, Nadiad. Ibuprofen tablets (batch no. T 3527) Prochloroperiazone 5 mg tablets batch no. 3/0 by GS Pharma, Muzafurpur. Prochloroperiazone 5 mg tablets (batch no, 3/0) by Gee Pharma, Vapi. Pottasium Permagnate (batch no. P4) by Royal Chemicals, Indore. Hydrogen Peroxide solution (batch no. 001) by Medismith Bangalore. Cotrimaxazole tablets (batch no. 9063) by Alkem Labs and Sulphadmine tablets (batch no. 024) manufactured by Axo Research, Indore.