Drug meant for Raj govt sold in market; 11 distributors booked

MUMBAI: An expensive drug meant to treat immune deficiency, manufactured only for the Rajasthan government by a city-based pharmaceutical company found its way to open markets of Indore, Gwalior, Kolkata and Mumbai. In a multi-city crackdown of the illegal drug racket of immunoglobulins, the state Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) filed a first information report (FIR) against 11 medical distributors in Mumbai.

The issue came into light in July, when manufacturers of Immunorel complained to the FDA about finding the drug with several distributors in Mumbai and Thane. The drug is manufactured using human blood plasma and contains antibodies which strengthen immunity against hepatitis, HIV and tuberculosis, the cost of a vial is between ₹7,000 and ₹15,000. Despite a five-monthlong probe, the FDA and other investigating agencies have reached a dead-end with regard to finding out the source from where the drug supply had leaked.

Girish Bapat, state minister for food and civil supplies, in a written response in the Assembly on Friday, said 12 medicine suppliers across four states were booked in the racket. “Investigations found the suppliers removed the tag, ‘Rajasthan Government, Not For Sale,’ on the medicines before putting them for sale in open markets. We managed to seize a stock worth ₹1.6 lakh from Thane and Mumbai during raids. An FIR has been filed at Bhayandar police station against the accused,” Bapat said.

“The company got a contract to manufacture 4,500 vials of the drugs for Rajasthan government but we received a complaint that the drugs were sold by city-based distributors to doctors and hospitals.

Our immediate probe led us to numerous other distributors in Kolkata and Indore who had sold the drug in Mumbai,” said DR Gahane, assistant commissioner (drugs), FDA.

Multiple investigating teams from FDA, Maharashtra, then visited the respective cities and made inquiries with the local drug distribution channels but failed to find the source of the leak. “The drugs were received in full by the Rajasthan government. They were not stolen en route either and must have been leaked from Rajasthan. We also checked the bills of city distributors. They bought the drugs, unaware of the fact that the drugs were for the Rajasthan government and no major irregularities were found. The probe has reached Indore, where two drug distributors are blaming each other for being the first supplier,” said an FDA official.

Abhay Pandey, president, All India Food and Drug License Holders Association, a body of all licensed drug and medical equipment distributors of India, who assisted the investigating agencies said the distributors removed the label on the vials as well as the packaging.