Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Routine testing of antibiotic samples at a Nanded-based govt hospital recently showed that they lacked the required medicinal content, prompting health authorities to initiate the process for appropriate legal action against the suppliers.
The revelation comes in the wake of a similar incident at Swami Ramanand Teerth Government Rural Medical College and Hospital at Ambajogai in Latur, raising alarms over counterfeit drug distribution at state-run hospitals.
Health officials said in the instant case, the 1.5 lakh antibiotic tablets were found to be non-compliant with prescribed standards during the routine testing at a self-approval laboratory. The Nanded GMCH administration, acting on the lab report, handed over 1.23 lakh tablets to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for further investigation.
District surgeon Dr Nilkanth Bhosikar said, “We receive medicines through tenders and direct government supply. Every batch is accompanied by a certificate from the supplying firm, and samples are sent for lab testing. Only those certified by NABL are cleared for use. In this case, the antibiotics were sealed immediately after the testing reports arrived.”
He said while the substandard drugs were ineffective, and posed no immediate threat to patients.
A senior FDA official said investigations showed that a network of dubious suppliers operating out of Uttarakhand, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh supplied the drugs to the hospital. “None of these firms existed at their registered addresses, leading to questions about the masterminds behind the counterfeit supply chain. Following complaints, Maharashtra’s FDA contacted regulatory bodies in the respective states for further details,” the official said.
Earlier, a similar cache of counterfeit drugs was discovered in Dharashiv, linked to one of these fictitious firms. FDA officials suspect that these drugs might have infiltrated several govt hospitals across Maharashtra.
Following the latest findings, the opposition is up in arms against the newly formed Mahayuti govt. “Who is behind these operations? How have such counterfeit drugs gone undetected for so long?” asked Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare.
