FDA officer suspended amid fake drug probe

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has suspended Circle-1 Assistant Drugs Controller Omkareshwar over alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the Krupa Healthcare case in Chamarajpet, amid an expanding probe into a suspected spurious drug network.

The suspension is the first reported action against a Drugs Control Department official in the ongoing investigation. The government has also intensified scrutiny of pharmacies, wholesalers and pharmaceutical companies allegedly linked to the distribution chain.

The FDA has already cancelled 16 drug licences and suspended eight others following an August 18 raid on an alleged unlicensed repacking and relabelling facility at Kurubarakeranahalli near Bidadi. Officials seized suspected spurious medicines, machinery, packaging material and labels estimated at around Rs 5.05 crore.

Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader said the government was considering stricter legal provisions, including permanent blacklisting of companies found manufacturing or distributing spurious medicines. He said action under existing criminal law and changes to the regulatory framework were also being examined. The FDA is tracing the supply chain to identify hospitals, pharmacies and patients who may have received the suspected medicines. Officials are also preparing to contact patients to ascertain whether they experienced any adverse effects, according to the minister. Khader said some major pharmaceutical companies had not adequately cooperated with the investigation. The department has stopped business transactions at Pfizer’s C&F depot in Nelamangala pending further orders, while the investigation continues. The minister said the government was also examining the possibility of partnering with accredited private laboratories to strengthen medicine-quality testing.