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Pharma Giants Urge Supreme Court to Strengthen Crackdown on Counterfeit Drugs

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which represents 23 leading pharmaceutical firms, submitted a petition last week requesting the court to instruct the health ministry to develop clear guidelines for filing First Information Reports (FIRs) and the arrest of individuals involved in the production and sale of counterfeit medications. These offenses are punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

• By Newsdesk
• New Delhi
• Oct 07, 2024

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India's top pharmaceutical companies have called on the Supreme Court to grant greater powers to police and drug inspectors to tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs. The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which represents 23 leading pharmaceutical firms, submitted a petition last week requesting the court to instruct the health ministry to develop clear guidelines for filing First Information Reports (FIRs) and the arrest of individuals involved in the production and sale of counterfeit medications. These offenses are punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

A senior industry official highlighted that police have been reluctant to collaborate with state drug inspectors in enforcing laws against counterfeit drugs, a situation that reportedly worsened following a 2020 Supreme Court ruling. This decision barred police from prosecuting counterfeit drug manufacturers, leaving enforcement largely in the hands of under-resourced and unprotected drug inspectors. The lack of coordinated action has diminished the deterrent effect, contributing to a rise in fake and substandard medicines in the market. The official pointed out that despite the discovery of counterfeit drugs in multiple cases, no significant actions were taken.

The IPA did not offer any comments on the petition, but their move follows a recent crackdown by both central and state regulators. In August, authorities found that medicines from over 50 major brands, including Shelcal, Pan-D, Clavam, and Telma H, failed to meet required potency standards, classifying them as "not of standard quality" (NSQ). However, the manufacturers of these drugs denied responsibility, asserting that the substandard products were counterfeit versions of their brands.

On September 29, the IPA issued a statement on behalf of member companies like Torrent, Sun Pharma, Alkem, and Glenmark, distancing themselves from the subpar drugs and blaming spurious drug manufacturers for distributing fake products under their brand names. IPA Secretary General Sudarshan Jain emphasized the severe risks that counterfeit drugs pose to public health, noting that linking legitimate companies to spurious drugs damages both their reputation and India’s image as a trusted global medicine supplier.

Jain clarified that while NSQ drugs may lack sufficient active ingredients, spurious drugs—produced by illicit operations—contain no active substances at all and are packaged to deceive consumers.