- FDA busted illegal drug repacking and relabelling at a Bidadi farmhouse in Bengaluru South
- Unlicensed facility repackaged cheaper medicines to mimic costly multinational brands
- Seized stock and equipment valued around Rs 4.91 crore, including thousands of fake vials
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration's Drug Enforcement Wing has busted an alleged illegal pharmaceutical repacking and relabelling racket at a farmhouse in Bidadi, Bengaluru South district.
Acting on a tip-off received on August 18, FDA officials conducted an inspection at a farmhouse located at No. 34, Kurubarakerana Halli, Bidadi, and uncovered an unlicensed facility allegedly involved in repacking and relabelling medicines.
According to the FDA, the operators were procuring lower-cost medicines from other states and allegedly filling them into new vials before relabelling them to resemble expensive multinational and imported drug brands.
The department said several of the seized medicines were allegedly fake drugs. Such medicines may contain no active pharmaceutical ingredient, incorrect ingredients or potentially harmful substances. Officials also found that the scanning codes printed on the forged labels were non-functional.
The seized stock and equipment have been valued at approximately Rs 4.91 crore.
Among the major seizures were 5,640 vials of CEFIAVIGENT 2.5 1 Injection, valued at Rs 3.38 crore, and 1,531 vials of HIZLAM Injectables, valued at Rs 52.24 lakh.
The FDA also seized 30 boxes of expired medicines estimated to be worth Rs 35 lakh, 470 vials of Xavitaz injection worth Rs 27.49 lakh, 264 vials of EMBLAVEO allegedly carrying the Pfizer Limited name on the label, valued at Rs 20.59 lakh, and 165 vials of Zavicefta injection worth Rs 5.45 lakh.
"This is said to be a nation wide network. Medicines were allegedly brought from Himachal Pradesh and Telangana and relabelled with MBC companies label," Karnataka health minister UT Khader said.
He said that the accused running this racket is said to be living in Dubai.
Other seized medicines in the raid included TIGYNT IV, Tigvnet injections, Aztreo injection and Trezam injection.
Officials also seized packaging materials, stoppers and caps, injection-filling machinery and industrial equipment, along with forged labels, stamps and printing materials.
"This was being run at a farmhouse owned by a person called Siddaiah. He had leased the building to Prashant. His relative Tejas was running this," Khader said, adding that he will form a special team to investigate the matter.
The FDA said the operation violated provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, relating to the manufacture, storage and distribution of drugs without a valid licence.
The presence of expired medicines has also raised concerns that such drugs may have been reintroduced into the supply chain, posing a serious risk to public health.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the batch numbers and entries of the seized medicines are being blocked on the Karnataka FDA portal to prevent their further sale or distribution.
Samples of the seized medicines have been sent to laboratories for testing to determine their chemical composition, sterility and potency.
A police complaint has also been lodged at Tavarekere Police Station. The FDA and police are jointly investigating the case and further legal action is expected against those responsible.
The seized material will be produced before the JMFC court in Bengaluru South.
