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The Suvarna Karnataka Chemists & Distributors Association (SKCDA) has asked Alkem Laboratories to immediately recall PAN-D, an anti-reflux medicine with the fake batch numbers.
In a communication to Alkem Laboratories, SKCDA president B Thirunavukkarasu provided reference from the video which is being circulated in the social media, for the last one week on confirmation of large quantities of fake drugs have been confiscated in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh by the Drugs Control Department & the Crime Branch Police Department.
The enforcement team has confiscated large quantities of fake medicines out of which the maximum quantity was the drug ‘PAN-D’ a very popular anti-reflux medicine for treatment of GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. As per the information available with us it is evident that the authorities are investigating the issue and it may take a long time to complete the investigation, he added.
We have reason to believe that significant volumes of counterfeit drugs are currently circulating in the market, posing a potential threat to the lives of the general public. Our apprehension arises from the possibility that these counterfeit drugs are being produced using identical batch numbers to genuine ones, making their detection challenging. Additionally, it is crucial to note that these counterfeit drugs are being distributed alongside authentic medications, exacerbating the risk to consumers, said Thirunavukkarasu in his communication to Alkem Laboratories.
As the Suvarna Karnataka Chemists & Distributors Association, we hold it as our social responsibility to safeguard the well-being of retailers, wholesalers and most importantly the overall public health, said Thirunavukkarasu.
Hence, we hereby request to provide the list of confiscated drugs along with batch numbers of the same. We also request you to immediately recall the effected batch numbers identical with the fake drugs batch numbers so that fake drugs are not passed on to the general public putting risks on their lives.
Further, there is a need to also immediately inform us of what action is taken from the company’s end in this matter. Since Alkem Laboratories is the manufacturer of many of the drugs of which duplicates have been confiscated, we are now working to circulate this fake drug data to the retailers, wholesalers and general public so as to enable them to take cognizance of this serious matter while purchasing the drugs with falsified batch numbers, he said.
Besides, SKCDA is also insisting to Alkem to provide the list of authorized stockiest/distributors in Karnataka along with the contact details. This will enable the Association to accordingly advice retailers to purchase medicines only from the authorized stockiest/distributors and not to deal with intermediate market place sellers. Wholesalers need to only purchase medicines from the pharma company’s C&F, Super Stockiest, & also to avoid interstate unknown sources.
Therefore, SKCDA has requested Alkem Laboratories to immediately recall the PAN – D strips with batch numbers identical with the fake drug’s batch numbers, said Thirunavukkarasu.
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