Hyderabad: In a bid to stop the circulation and use of spurious drugs across Telangana, the Drug Control Administration (DCA) has appealed to the general public to help tackle the menace.
The DCA issued an advisory on Monday, May 12, explaining how such drugs are toxic and fatal.
“The spurious drugs are manufactured by anti-social elements who conceal the true identity of the product. These drug resembles another drug of a reputed company, especially a popular brand, with the intent to deceive the public and cash in on the popularity of the original product,” said DCA director general Shahnawaz Qasim.
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“These drugs place the patient’s health at grave risk. They not only fail to cure the disease but, over time, result in disastrous consequences,” Qasim said.
The DCA advisory directed drug manufacturing companies to print or affix a bar code or QR code on their labels. These codes will contain the following data:
- Unique Product Identification Code
- Proper and Generic Name of the Drug
- Brand Name
- Name and Address of the Manufacturer
- Batch Number
- Date of Manufacturing
- Date of Expiry
- Manufacturing Licence Number
General public, hospitals, pharmacies, and other healthcare stakeholders can verify the codes via a software application in order to determine if the drug is authentic or not.
How to report suspected spurious drugs
Information regarding suspicious or unverified drug products may be reported to their local drugs inspector or the assistant director, either through Telangana DCA’s website or toll-free number 1800 599 6969, from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm on all working days.
