Telangana DCA seizes drugs made, sold under ‘food licence’ in Mancherial

Hyderabad: Unearthing unauthorised drug manufacturing, the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) of Telangana, raided Sri Ram Medical Agencies in Mancherial and DCA officers seized a batch of Klinthia 100 mg tablets (Thiamine Hydrochloride Tablets 100 mg). These drugs were illegally being manufactured and sold using a ‘food license’.

Thiamine Hydrochloride Tablets (100 mg) is a crucial medication, which, according to the DCA, should only be produced under a valid drug license, in adherence to the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) outlined in Schedule-M of the Drugs Rules.

The confiscated quantity totalled 1,800 tablets with Batch No ST-4211. These tablets, labelled with the composition ‘Each film-coated tablet contains: Thiamine Hydrochloride 100 mg along with other ingredients’, bore a food license/FSSAI License No 10019064001714. The manufacturing was attributed to Space Healthcare and the marketing was done by Medkline Life Sciences Pvt Ltd.

The total worth of the seized tablets was estimated at Rs 30,000, and samples have been collected for further analysis.

More manufacturers operating without license

According to M Srinivasulu, assistant director, Karimnagar, and T Chandana, drugs inspector, Mancherial, who were part of the raid, such cases are not isolated incidents.

Similar instances of drugs being manufactured under a ‘food license’ were detected by the DCA in November 2023 and January 2024. The Drugs Control Laboratory, Hyderabad, declared these products as spurious due to a complete absence of the active ingredient in the said products.

The DCA emphasised that drugs falsely manufactured and sold under a food license pose serious risks to patients’ health, as they often do not adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and fail to meet the quality standards outlined in the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).

In response to the unauthorised drug manufacturing, the DCA director general, VB Kamalasan Reddy, IPS, issued a stern warning. He stated, “Manufacturing and selling drugs without a valid drug license is punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, with imprisonment for up to five years.”