TELANGANA WAGES WAR AGAINST COUNTERFEIT DRUGS

Telangana contributes nearly one-third to India’s production and one-fifth to its exports in the pharmaceutical sector.

- Amguth Raju

Hyderabad is a home to 800 pharma companies and life sciences capital of the country. To make the state free of spurious drugs, the Drugs Control Administration (DCA), Telangana is working relentlessly to detect spurious drugs movement in the market. In 2023 the DCA has carried out 26,133 inspections and taken action in 4984 cases with 4991 cases of violations. In the first four months of this year till April 2024 DCA has carried out 8495 inspections and found out that 50 drugs are ‘Not of Standard Quality’ (NSQ). Let’s look at how DCA is continuing its crusade against the spurious drugs issue and keep the public health of the state in order.

From the beginning of 2024, the DCA of Telangana, under the leadership of Director General (DG) V B Kamalasan Reddy, (who took charge as DG in July 2023) has intensified its efforts to combat the menace of spurious, fake and NSQ in the state. In the past few months, the DCA has targeted nearly 100 facilities across the state, resulting in the confiscation of 4000 to 5000 kgs of counterfeit medications worth Rs 50-60 crore. These recent raids have uncovered a widespread network of spurious drugs, highlighting the ongoing battle against counterfeit medications that pose a severe threat to public health.

Highlighting the efforts taken by the DCA of Telangana, Kamalasan Reddy said that he is committed to ensuring that quality, efficacy, and safety of medicines being supplied to the people in the state. “As part of this objective, we at the DCA have set our goals and accordingly devised plans for inspecting pharmaceutical companies, medical shops, medical device manufacturing companies, and blood banks across the state,” said Kamalasan Reddy.

Emerging pharmaceutical hub