Fake medicines in Ambajogai: City's drug safety reviewed

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Authorities exposed a gang supplying counterfeit medicines to the Swami Ramanand Teerth Hospital in Ambajogai. Police registered a case against four suspects. The incident has raised concerns about medicine safety in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

GMCH Hospital and the district general hospital were found reliable. The Drug Administration tested 13 medicine samples from these hospitals over the past year. All samples were certified as standard. GMCH and district hospitals handle many patients and provide free medicines. Officials confirmed regular inspections to ensure safety. Samples of Azithromycin-500 from Swami Ramanand Teerth Hospital were tested. The October 23 report declared the medicine fake and ineffective. Authorities clarified that these medicines were not supplied to GMCH or the District Hospital.

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Samples tested and locations

Since March, 8 samples from GMCH and 1 from the Government Cancer Hospital were analyzed. In September last year, 4 samples from the District Hospital were tested. All 13 samples were certified as standard.

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Previous incidents at GMCH

In April, GMCH administered rabies vaccines to dog bite patients. Some experienced adverse reactions. The hospital immediately stopped using the vaccine and switched to a new batch.

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Medicine testing process

Hospitals send received medicines for quality checks. So far, no defective or fake medicines have been found. The supply of new medicines is pending.-------------(Dr. Dayanand Motipwale, District Surgeon)

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Planned review

GMCH randomly tests medicines and conducts checks on new brands if suspicions arise. A review of medicine supplies will be conducted again.--------------( Dr. Shivaji Sukre, Dean GMCH)

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Regular inspections

Hospitals report complaints or reactions, prompting medicine tests. Routine checks also lead to sample testing. Medicines are tested before being supplied to hospitals.-------------(Rajgopal Bajaj, Joint Commissioner, FDA (Drugs)