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 The Bangalore District Chemists & Druggists Association (BDCDA) has strongly condemned the alleged manufacture, fake relabelling, repackaging and circulation of counterfeit medicines, particularly cancer and critical-care medicines. It urged every retailer to procure medicines strictly from authorised jurisdiction based pharmaceutical company stockists and legitimate distribution channels.
The alleged act of introducing fake medicines into the healthcare and pharma supply system is not only a violation of law, but a serious betrayal of patient trust and a direct threat to public health, said B. Thirunavukkarasu, president, BDCDA.
“When a cancer patient purchases a medicine, they are placing their hope as their survival is on it. Knowingly placing counterfeit or mislabelled medicines in the hands of vulnerable patients is a grave betrayal of human trust, a threat to life, and an act that must face the strictest action under law,” he added.
Therefore, we laud the Karnataka government’s efforts in pursuing the investigation across the entire supply chain and identify every person responsible, wherever evidence establishes wrongdoing. In fact, BDCDA had raised an alarm in 2023 and placed on record that it was brought to the notice of the then Drugs Controller B T Khanapure on the concerns regarding exorbitant trade margins, reportedly extending up to 500% in certain medicines exclusively sold at the hospital pharmacies.
“We pointed out that this issue was not just about commercial margins. But it was the manner in which excessive margins, coupled with aggressive discount advertisements on social media, that could distort the medicine market and influence consumers to continuously search for cheaper sources," said Thirunavukkarasu.
“When consumers see medicines being offered at extraordinarily high discounts, the tendency is to look for an even cheaper source. This can create an opening for consumers to enter unauthorised and potentially dangerous supply channels. We therefore stress that price competition must never override medicine authenticity, traceability and patient safety, he said.
Stating that regulatory warnings must not be ignored, Thirunavukkarasu expressed concern that credible warning signals of abnormal pricing, excessive margins, suspicious procurement, unusual discounts, relabelling or unauthorised distribution should attract timely regulatory scrutiny and, wherever legally warranted, suo motu investigation needs to be deployed. “We also ask for our representations and recommendations to be taken into consideration and not be ignored. We view that enforcement should not wait until suspected counterfeit medicines reach patients.”
On a concluding note, Thirunavukkarasu emphasised that the legitimate pharmaceutical trade should not be painted with the same brush. The majority of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers operate within the law and uphold professional standards. Our advice is to purchase medicines only from authorised stockists/distributors, verify invoices, batch numbers, expiry dates and manufacturer details. The public should be cautious on deep discounts, reject medicines from unauthorised source and immediately report suspected counterfeit or mislabelled medicines to the regulatory authorities, he said.
Thirunavukkarasu said, “The present ongoing investigation following the Bidadi seize on August 18 should serve as a wake-up call for the entire pharmaceutical supply chain. India needs stronger medicine traceability, tighter monitoring of unauthorised channels, responsible pricing practices and faster coordination between manufacturers, regulators, enforcement agencies, hospitals and pharmacists. A medicine is not just a product for a cancer patient, instead it is hope and this should never be betrayed.”
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