India becomes a hub for fake medicines

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Siasat.pk - Blogger
India becomes a hub for fake medicines

By Rama Lakshmi Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 11, 2010; A9

IN NEW DELHI Private investigator Suresh Sati rattled off the popular brand names listed on the boxes of cough syrup, supplements, vitamins and painkillers sprawled across the desk and shelves in his basement office.

"They look real, but all these are fakes," said Sati, head of a New Delhi-based agency that helps police conduct raids against counterfeit-drug syndicates across the country. "A regular customer cannot make out if a drug is fake. . . . The biggest giveaway is when someone is selling medicines very cheap. It is almost always fake."

India, the world's largest manufacturer of generic drugs, has become a busy center for counterfeit and substandard medicines. Stuffed in slick packaging and often labeled with the names of such legitimate companies as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Novartis, the fake drugs are passed off to Indian consumers and sold in developing nations around the world.

Experts say the global fake-drug industry, worth about $90 billion, causes the deaths of almost 1 million people a year and is contributing to a rise in drug resistance.

Estimates vary on the number of these drugs made in India. The Indian government says that 0.4 percent of the country's drugs are counterfeit and that substandard drugs account for about 8 percent. But independent estimates range from 12 to 25 percent.

Indian officials say the clandestine industry has hurt the image of India's booming pharmaceutical industry and its exports, worth $8.5 billion a year, mostly to African and Latin American countries.

To clamp down on the illegal trade, the health ministry launched a reward program this year offering $55,000 to those who provide information about fake-drug syndicates.

Last year, the ministry also strengthened its drug law to speed up court trials. Suspects found guilty of manufacturing and selling fake drugs can be sentenced to life in prison.

The number of people arrested for manufacturing and selling fake drugs rose from 12 in 2006 to 147 last year, and drugs worth about $6.5 million were seized over this period.

"It is very difficult to dismantle the entire operation," Sati said. "When we bust one operation, two more spring up elsewhere. Convictions are rare."

The tricks of the trade include sticking fraudulent labels on expired products, filling vials with water, stuffing small amounts of real ingredients in packages of popular licensed brands and putting chalk power in medicine packets.

But more than the concern for public safety, officials here have been particularly alarmed about recent incidents that discredit India's image abroad.

In June, officials at Nigeria's Abuja airport caught a shipment of fake antibiotics, containing no active ingredients, with a "Made in India" label.

Nigerian investigators later said that a Chinese company shipped the drugs via Frankfurt. In a similar incident last year, a shipment of fake anti-malaria drugs from China arrived in Nigeria with an Indian tag.

Last year, Sri Lanka banned imports from four Indian companies after officials discovered substandard medicine in shipments.

Over the years, drug companies have used holograms or embossed their logo on the packaging to protect their brands, but these have also been counterfeited in India.

One company, MSN Labs, is using a technology developed by U.S.-based start-up firm PharmaSecure that allows consumers to check the authenticity of medicines by sending in a text message of the code written on them.

But many Indian companies are "apprehensive of pursuing the cases for fear of bad publicity and possible loss of confidence among consumers," said Barun Mitra, director of the New Delhi-based think tank Liberty Institute.

Co-writing a report on a recent survey, Mitra said that 12 percent of sampled drugs from the capital's pharmacies were substandard. "We are behaving like ostriches with our heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is amiss even as the problem keeps growing and affecting Indian patients."

On a recent morning in the northern city of Varanasi, a young man named Ashish waited for a shipment of painkillers and postpartum pills to arrive by train.

He said his order of pills that controlled postpartum bleeding contained chalk powder but came with the brand name Methergine in a Novartis package.

The painkiller had insufficient ingredients and carried a Bidanzen Forte label inside a knockoff GlaxoSmithKline package.

"There is a lot of profit in this," said Ashish, 28, describing the extent of counterfeit drugs in Varanasi. He declined to give his surname because his operation is illegal.

"I do not think about right or wrong," he said. "I am not killing anybody. The worst is that these medicines will not show any result and the patient may have to check into a hospital."



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/AR2010091006700_pf.html
 

aaleraza

Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
india becomes a hub for fake medicines

by rama lakshmi washington post foreign service
saturday, september 11, 2010; a9

in new delhi private investigator suresh sati rattled off the popular brand names listed on the boxes of cough syrup, supplements, vitamins and painkillers sprawled across the desk and shelves in his basement office.

"they look real, but all these are fakes," said sati, head of a new delhi-based agency that helps police conduct raids against counterfeit-drug syndicates across the country. "a regular customer cannot make out if a drug is fake. . . . The biggest giveaway is when someone is selling medicines very cheap. It is almost always fake."

india, the world's largest manufacturer of generic drugs, has become a busy center for counterfeit and substandard medicines. Stuffed in slick packaging and often labeled with the names of such legitimate companies as glaxosmithkline, pfizer and novartis, the fake drugs are passed off to indian consumers and sold in developing nations around the world.

Experts say the global fake-drug industry, worth about $90 billion, causes the deaths of almost 1 million people a year and is contributing to a rise in drug resistance.

Estimates vary on the number of these drugs made in india. The indian government says that 0.4 percent of the country's drugs are counterfeit and that substandard drugs account for about 8 percent. But independent estimates range from 12 to 25 percent.

Indian officials say the clandestine industry has hurt the image of india's booming pharmaceutical industry and its exports, worth $8.5 billion a year, mostly to african and latin american countries.

To clamp down on the illegal trade, the health ministry launched a reward program this year offering $55,000 to those who provide information about fake-drug syndicates.

Last year, the ministry also strengthened its drug law to speed up court trials. Suspects found guilty of manufacturing and selling fake drugs can be sentenced to life in prison.

The number of people arrested for manufacturing and selling fake drugs rose from 12 in 2006 to 147 last year, and drugs worth about $6.5 million were seized over this period.

"it is very difficult to dismantle the entire operation," sati said. "when we bust one operation, two more spring up elsewhere. Convictions are rare."

the tricks of the trade include sticking fraudulent labels on expired products, filling vials with water, stuffing small amounts of real ingredients in packages of popular licensed brands and putting chalk power in medicine packets.

But more than the concern for public safety, officials here have been particularly alarmed about recent incidents that discredit india's image abroad.

In june, officials at nigeria's abuja airport caught a shipment of fake antibiotics, containing no active ingredients, with a "made in india" label.

Nigerian investigators later said that a chinese company shipped the drugs via frankfurt. In a similar incident last year, a shipment of fake anti-malaria drugs from china arrived in nigeria with an indian tag.

Last year, sri lanka banned imports from four indian companies after officials discovered substandard medicine in shipments.

Over the years, drug companies have used holograms or embossed their logo on the packaging to protect their brands, but these have also been counterfeited in india.

One company, msn labs, is using a technology developed by u.s.-based start-up firm pharmasecure that allows consumers to check the authenticity of medicines by sending in a text message of the code written on them.

But many indian companies are "apprehensive of pursuing the cases for fear of bad publicity and possible loss of confidence among consumers," said barun mitra, director of the new delhi-based think tank liberty institute.

Co-writing a report on a recent survey, mitra said that 12 percent of sampled drugs from the capital's pharmacies were substandard. "we are behaving like ostriches with our heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is amiss even as the problem keeps growing and affecting indian patients."

on a recent morning in the northern city of varanasi, a young man named ashish waited for a shipment of painkillers and postpartum pills to arrive by train.

He said his order of pills that controlled postpartum bleeding contained chalk powder but came with the brand name methergine in a novartis package.

The painkiller had insufficient ingredients and carried a bidanzen forte label inside a knockoff glaxosmithkline package.

"there is a lot of profit in this," said ashish, 28, describing the extent of counterfeit drugs in varanasi. He declined to give his surname because his operation is illegal.

"i do not think about right or wrong," he said. "i am not killing anybody. The worst is that these medicines will not show any result and the patient may have to check into a hospital."



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/ar2010091006700_pf.html

what else you can expect from a nation who has no moral values. They can do any thing to make money( which they says strong economy).
 

az.ay

Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
Twenty Per Cent Of Drugs Sold In India Are Fake

Imagine administering a paracetamol tablet to a near and dear one who is down with fever only to find that the medicine is having no effect. This scenario sounds scary, but it could be actually be happening to a lot of people as it has been recently revealed that about 20 per cent drugs sold in India are fake. As per ASSOCHAM’s estimation, the market for spurious drugs in India is growing by 25 per cent each year.

Infact the latest figures released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's state that almost 75 per cent of fake drugs exported the world over accrue from India. The emerging picture of the spurious drugs market in India has put the drug controller general's office on alert, which is now planning to undertake the world’s biggest ever study to determine the size of this deadly domain. The study of Indian spurious medicine market is scheduled to kick off soon. It will be headed by drug controller general of India, Surinder Singh and should continue for about six months.

http://www.india-server.com/news/twenty-per-cent-of-drugs-sold-in-india-1079.html
 

gazoomartian

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
You know what really be very dangerous if acetaminaphine (tylenol) is mistakenly laced with Viagra ingredients and sold as a pain/fever reliever

A guy takes it and wonders 'what the hell is going on here' :lol::lol:
 

Star Gazer

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Another jewel in the crown of bharat!!
Low or no morals, Buck almighty controls their life and they call us names.
I for one InshaAllah will make sure the medicine I use is NOT made in india. I do hope all the indians will use them to prove us wrong! ha, ha as if they have the courage to do that!
 

Star Gazer

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
A short list of the 'worlds biggest'
1-Largest below poverty population.
2-Largest prostitute population.
3-Largest child labour population.
4-Largest caste based profiling of the population.
5-Largest fake medicine exporter.
6-Largest importer of ammunition.
7-Largest C class movie maker.
8-Largest female infanticide commiters.
9-Largest AIDs population.
I am getting bored and depressed for the unfortunate that have to live there!
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
A short list of the 'worlds biggest'
1-Largest below poverty population.
2-Largest prostitute population.
3-Largest child labour population.
4-Largest caste based profiling of the population.
5-Largest fake medicine exporter.
6-Largest importer of ammunition.
7-Largest C class movie maker.
8-Largest female infanticide commiters.
9-Largest AIDs population.
I am getting bored and depressed for the unfortunate that have to live there!


hahaha....and you think everything is excellent where you live or belong to........before concluding about other place or society......

whole world may not be agree on 9 things you listed above

but whole world have consensus of your biggest and largest export to the world... and no one is second to that....what a great achievement.
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
You know what really be very dangerous if acetaminaphine (tylenol) is mistakenly laced with Viagra ingredients and sold as a pain/fever reliever

A guy takes it and wonders 'what the hell is going on here' :lol::lol:

it look like you experienced that....and got imbalanced after that ...
 

Star Gazer

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
hahaha....and you think everything is excellent where you live or belong to........before concluding about other place or society......

whole world may not be agree on 9 things you listed above

but whole world have consensus of your biggest and largest export to the world... and no one is second to that....what a great achievement.

You afraid to verbalise your thoughts, young brave?
 

Star Gazer

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
hahaha....and you think everything is excellent where you live or belong to........before concluding about other place or society......

whole world may not be agree on 9 things you listed above

but whole world have consensus of your biggest and largest export to the world... and no one is second to that....what a great achievement.

The anachronism is that any Pakistani has been involved in any acitivity that you are trying to blame on us and that in itself speaks of your credibilty. It also speaks of your intention to try to find out the truth.
These facts also tell us of your way of thinking. All the perpetrators of the horrendous day belong to some other countries and our so called 'Friendly neighbor'
likes to blame us for something that never happened and goes on to be quiet regarding the role of the countries involved because those countries are financially important to your country. So what that does mean for us? india is totally opportunistic, unreliable, a facade for us. Don't worry truth will come out and you will have no where to hide, it is only a matter of time and I am waiting patiently. Rant, rumble,scream, shout, make fake stories and take any side you wish to, we are all waiting.
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
You afraid to verbalise your thoughts, young brave?

have you heard that if something can be cured with a tablet why to do surgery??????

or

answer can't be subjective of an objective type question.........

you decide the category.....I'm ready for either way.......and I also request u please bring forward something interesting.....I got bored by commenting on same old stories...no creativity at all.

lets raise the BAR of the discussion......by commenting on anything don't forget that it is 21st century....you guys should also learn modern and logical way to express/compare/calibrate/justify anything.......

you guys started jumping like anything with this fake drug news as some live consignment (of fake drugs)has been caught by scotland yards...with sting operation.....hahahahaha.

also don't forget india has produced world's largest pharmaceutical companies...like ranbaxy,cipla,cadila.....hundred of them... also world class
hospitals...where people across the globe (USA,europe,etcs) come for treatment.

and beside india has its own Ayurveda therapy...that is getting famous world wide.
fake drugs rackets exists in india as well in Pakistan too.they are criminal element of the society.india prosecute 1000 of them every month.it is equivalent
to death penalty in indian penal court.......have u done similar thing??????

our weakness are not our total failures........we are getting there.


being ex-moderator..of this esteemed forum...why you waste your time & your fellow people's time by propagating negatives or drawbacks of India and other societies...by just ignoring that they have
limited proportion of that drawback compare to the progressive aspects of their societies where you people stand no-where nearby.
and you have bigger-broader-deeper problems/drawbacks compare to them.

why not you people patronize your people to match with ranbaxy and cipla and built a bigger company........and just gave up by stating ...we will conquer
india and this is how we will capture ranbaxy and cipla.
 

bons

Minister (2k+ posts)
hahaha....and you think everything is excellent where you live or belong to........before concluding about other place or society......

whole world may not be agree on 9 things you listed above

but whole world have consensus of your biggest and largest export to the world... and no one is second to that....what a great achievement.

Closing your eyes won't change the reality.

One more item to the list on which whole world agree upon is that India is world's largest open air toilet.
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
The anachronism is that any Pakistani has been involved in any acitivity that you are trying to blame on us and that in itself speaks of your credibilty. It also speaks of your intention to try to find out the truth.
These facts also tell us of your way of thinking. All the perpetrators of the horrendous day belong to some other countries and our so called 'Friendly neighbor'
likes to blame us for something that never happened and goes on to be quiet regarding the role of the countries involved because those countries are financially important to your country. So what that does mean for us? india is totally opportunistic, unreliable, a facade for us. Don't worry truth will come out and you will have no where to hide, it is only a matter of time and I am waiting patiently. Rant, rumble,scream, shout, make fake stories and take any side you wish to, we are all waiting.


who said you to rely on us.....

others societies(countries) in this world don't make any conclusion about any country easily...and they don't change that very easily too.

it take decades to build an image and more than decades to changes that.

perception of what you are and what we are has not been arisen overnight....and building any conspiracy theory will not give you any permanent relief.

Let time to decide who is wrong and who is right and ...not me and you....and lets put our sincere contribution in that deciding factor.
 

desicad

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Another jewel in the crown of bharat!!
Low or no morals, Buck almighty controls their life and they call us names.
I for one InshaAllah will make sure the medicine I use is NOT made in india. I do hope all the indians will use them to prove us wrong! ha, ha as if they have the courage to do that!
I still use made in India drugs here. Koi shak?? :)
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
Closing your eyes won't change the reality.

One more item to the list on which whole world agree upon is that India is world's largest open air toilet.


thats why whole world (obama,bill gates,cameron...all world leaders) are rushing to india and ignoring your plight of great sentry/restroom supplies.
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
India is a hub of lots of things brother, do you want me to spend hours listing them here? LOL


why don't you spend hours for collecting CHANDA for registration of your party so that you can move ahead ..where you standing from last 30 years(aren't u feel tired),who is holding you back
PPP hahahaha.....pending (registration) patriots party.....being chairman you are at par with zardari....(both don't touch their personal money for beloved country)

there is big difference in dreams and illusions....

and future belongs to those believe in the beauty of their dreams.....not who ...waste time in making illusionary maps...and don't have courage to
spend $1200 for return ticket to get registration from their pocket (and waiting forever for a financer for that)
 

bons

Minister (2k+ posts)
thats why whole world (obama,bill gates,cameron...all world leaders) are rushing to india and ignoring your plight of great sentry/restroom supplies.

You call them leaders? Soon these leeches will suck your blood (if you have any). They come to India only to sell their cleaning/restroom supplies. Indian's ne itna gun'd machaya huwa hay ke agar uss ko saaf karne ka contract US ko mil jaye to uss ki economy phir se khari ho jaye. Yeh hay tumhari hesiyat.
 

dil-se-desi

MPA (400+ posts)
You call them leaders? Soon these leeches will suck your blood (if you have any). They come to India only to sell their cleaning/restroom supplies. Indian's ne itna gun'd machaya huwa hay ke agar uss ko saaf karne ka contract US ko mil jaye to uss ki economy phir se khari ho jaye. Yeh hay tumhari hesiyat.

they go to india for the same reason as they go to china......and india has very wide range to sell them too.
you might be telling your experience...where you work..how they sell product.......yes stephen harper(canadian PM) came to india and try to sell similar product of the company where you may be working ...you should feel good india is contributing to your employment too.

 

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