Despite a number of raids and filing of cases by Kerala drug officials against some top pharma companies for selling various nutraceuticals that fall neither under drug nor food supplements category, these products are freely sold in the Kerala market.

Some of these products belong to companies like Ranbaxy and Cadila Pharmaceuticals. They have been able to obtain stay orders from the Kerala High Court or lower courts after the seizures. Pharmabiz enquiries revealed that products of about 15 different firms were seized and actions were initiated during the last two to three years. Most of the products are still being freely sold in the Kerala market.

According to the cases filed in the Kerala High Court, products like slim kits and a diabetic drug were seized from the distributor of Chennai based Franch Technologies (case number 20992/01). A stay was granted in this case, and the DC again booked the firm for carrying misleading advertisements under the Magic Remedies Act (case 21259/2003).

In another case, the popular Herbalife, a product promoted for slimming, was seized by the DC (case 4273/2002) and its distributors approached the court to get a stay on the ban. JF Herbals was booked for selling a mushroom-based Ginseng product from Korea but the product is still available in the Kerala market (case - 1588/2002). Three products of Amway were seized last year as per the case number (7873/2002). Alchem Pharmaceuticals was booked for selling Olivol vitamin capsule, and the company got a stay order. Chennai based Parry Nutraceuticals' Spirulina also came under the seizure list, as per the case on (6815/2002). They are still selling it in Kerala. Troica Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat, which was selling its anti-arthritis drug Glucosimine capsules as nutraceuticals were seized. The company was then forced to take a valid manufacturing license for the drug to sell in Kerala, consequent to the legal battle.

A case was filed against Ranbaxy for selling Revital (ginseng with vitamins), which was Ranbaxy's first brand to be made OTC from the prescription drug category (case 19169/2000). A case was filed against Wockhardt for selling the Winofit vitamin tablets in Kerala (case 6815/2002).

In the case of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, the DCs office seized EC 53, Vitamin E&C capsules as per the case 3352/2001. The High Court observed that the product could be regarded as a drug. However, the company got a stay from the division bench of the High Court as per its appeal 1556/2002.

All these companies were booked for violating Rule 18 (C) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, by which the firms require a valid manufacturing and marketing license to sell these as 'drugs'. It is also learnt that the Kerala DC may ask Glaxo, another pharma major, to withdraw a recently launched vitamin product from the Kerala market or may initiate action.

Though the Kerala Drug department has been pleading the court to take up the cases on an urgent basis, the hearings have not made much progress, it is learnt.

"We are helpless. We do our job. It is the job of the court to decide whether our action was right or wrong. Most of the MNCs can afford to field India's top most lawyers to plead their case, and they are able to get stays in their favour. We will continue to do our job. Within the existing provisions of the laws, we can't allow multilevel marketing companies or pharmaceutical firms to sell vitamin tablets or similar products as food items, often at exorbitant prices" says MP George, assistant drug controller.