The Assistant Drugs Control (ADC) office at Ernakulam in Kerala has registered cases of violation against the healthcare companies, Geltec Private Limited, Bangalore and Abbott Health Care Private Limited, Mumbai for manufacturing and selling the vitamin products, Follihair tablets and Supractive capsules, without drug manufacturing licence.


Revi S Menon, the ADC at Ernakulam said these products were sold along with drugs through medical stores on prescriptions of doctors. The people were purchasing them as drugs. Drug inspectors from his office while inspecting the sales premises of Abbot Healthcare private limited in Kochi have found that the products have been sold without drug manufacturing licences.


He said the products were manufactured by Geltec Private Limited, Bangalore and marketed by Abbott Health Care Private Limited, Mumbai.


According to the ADC, both the products are combinations of vitamins, minerals and amino acids and these types of products come under price control fixed by NPPA. In order to circumvent the provisions of DPCO, Abbott was selling these products as proprietary food. The products are in pharmaceutical dosage forms- tablets and capsule, and are meant for therapeutic purposes, he said.


He said there are so many instances of drug manufacturers circumventing the provisions of the DPCO, and recently the Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry had directed the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to take up such cases with the Union health ministry to put an end to such illegal trade. He added that so many multi-vitamins are sold as food supplements and these come under DPCO and their prices are fixed by NPPA, but the manufacturers are violating the norms of the DPCO.


The retail price of Follicare tablets (10 tab) was Rs.95 and of Supractive capsules (15 cap), Rs.99. The products were distributed through pharmaceutical wholesalers, and the public got it from retail shops on prescription of doctors.


Since they were being sold without drug manufacturing licences, the inspectors seized the items from the marketing company’s store and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Ernakulam. The companies were given notices to stop the sale of the products in Kerala, he said.


More inspections will be conducted in the coming days in all the retail and wholesale shops to find out whether these products are marketed or not, he added.