india

Updated: Apr 28, 2019 23:39 IST

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has been raiding and seizing medicines procured without following the registration and licensing process, officials said. This is a part of a crackdown on illegal import and sale of drugs.

About 2,500 kg of drugs were seized in the latest raid carried out in Chennai on Thursday, the officials said. The raid was carried as the drugs were imported without registration certificate and import license, they added.

The CDSCO’s intelligence cell had gathered the information that certain drugs were being imported illegally without a registration certificate and import license. The drugs seized included erythromycin stearate (235 kg), verapamil hydrochloride (155 Kgs), megestrol acetate (70 kg), trimetazidine dihydrochloride (1,344 kg), folic acid (125 kg), silymarin (175 kg) and calcium D-pantothenate (250 kg).

All the seized drugs were manufactured in China, and mostly by unregistered companies, showed the label pasted on the medicines, the officials said.

The cost of the seized material is estimated to be about ₹1.5 crore, which may be higher in the open market, they added. “The CDSCO has been cracking down on such illegal procurement and sale. We have to assure good quality medicines to our people, and there will be no compromise on that,” said drugs controller general of India S Eswara Reddy.

The manufacturing for sale of drugs in the country has to be carried out under a license issued as per the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The import of drugs into the country requires a registration certificate and import license. The violations of the norms can lead to imprisonment of up to three to five years along with fine. During registration of a drug for import, quality related information such as the manufacturing process, validation data, analytical procedure, bioequivalence data, stability data, certificate of analysis, etc are evaluated.

The absence of the process while importing products into the country increases the risk of spurious or substandard product landing in the country. “It may pose a risk to public health,” said Reddy.