|
Maha FDA cancels 607 licenses, suspends 2,620 licenses of pharmacy outlets for non-compliance of norms
|
|
Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
August 31 , 2017
|
|
|
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has canceled 607
licenses and suspended 2,620 licenses of pharmacy outlets for
non-compliance of norms based on the 36,426 inspections done on over
76,000 retail and wholesale premises in the state over a period of one
year.
Around 6 FIRs have been lodged in cases related to
non-compliance like absence of pharmacists and dispensing drugs without
proper bills. Earlier this year, the state regulator had detected a
unique case where medical representatives of Cipla company connived with
wholesalers in forging bills and procuring medicines at discounted
rates twice. These medicines were then stocked and supplied elsewhere
when the stocks were actually meant to be supplied to hospitals.
Cases
detected during FDA surprise raids amounting to violation under D&C
Act included even dispensing Schedule H drugs without prescription by
unqualified people to the patients.
The state drug regulator in
the past had also served 2,428 show cause notices on the retailers based
on violations of D&C Act like dispensing medicines without
prescription, without proper bill and for absence of pharmacists.
Stop
sale notices were earlier issued while the state regulator made
surprise checks at drug retail stores and found that pharmacists were
absent in two of the retail stores of Mumbai region in violation of Rule
65(2) of the D&C Act which attracts penalty both under Pharmacy Act
and Drugs and Cosmetics Act for professional misconduct.
FDA
also busted an illegal abortion drug racket and lodged an FIR with
police at Parbhani in Aurangabad division which is latest in the series
of such cases where offenders used to stock and sell MTP kits in a
clandestine manner without a license.
Around 450 strips of
non-surgical abortion medication were confiscated from the premises at
Parbhani and two people were booked under different sections of Drug and
Magic Remedies (DMR) Act, Essential Commodities (EC) Act and Drugs and
Cosmetics Act (D&C Act
Violations of D&C Act have been
rampant in the last one year relating to not having proper purchase and
sale bill and absence of pharmacists in the drug retail stores across
the city.
Licenses of 500 retail pharmacies were cancelled and of
another 1,674 retail drug stores were suspended as a part of
inspections done on 18,067 retail pharmacies across the state between
April 2015 and January 2016.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOPICS
|
That foods might provide therapeutic benefits is clearly not a new concept. ...
|
|
|
|
|