The Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate court has convicted the distributor of a leading veterinary drug manufacturer in Ahmedabad for trying to supply expired amoxycillin and cloxacillin injections with doctored labels of expiry dates to the Kerala Animal Husbandry department.

Vijayakumari, P.K., proprietress and licensee of Swiss Agrovet Industries, Thiruvananthapuram, was convicted yesterday by the Chief Judicial Magistrate as per a case filed by the state drug control department, to undergo simple imprisonment till the raising of the court and to pay a fine of Rs.15,000, for manufacturing and selling misbranded drugs. K Sathish Kurup, the competent person of the firm, was also accused in the case, and the court convicted him with the same punishment.

The firm, Swiss Agrovet Industries, is a supplier of drugs to the Animal Husbandary department of the Kerala state.

T P Gopinathan, Drug Controller, Kerala said the firm Swiss Agro Vet Industries, a supplier for Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Matoda, Ahmedabad, had altered the labels and carton details of the drug Intamox 0.5 (amoxycillin and cloxacillin) injections in vials and Mammitel (Intra Mammary Injection containing colistin 5 lakhs I.U. Cloxacillin 200 mg. in packets of 10X10 gm syringe) in order to extend the shelf life of the drugs. Some of the batches of the drugs were nearing its expiry date.

P K Sreekumar, Drugs Inspector of the Special Intelligence branch attached to the Office of the Drugs Controller, Thiruvananthapuram had filed a complaint against the firm. The intelligence branch of the department throughout the state assisted in the investigations, said the DC.