Punjab Quality Control Board (PQCB) has initiated legal proceedings against 200 pharmaceutical companies after the National Task Force (NTF) pointed out the spread of fake drugs all over the province. The board has also forwarded 74 cases to drug courts for prosecution.
Drug Regulation Authority Pakistan (DRAP) instituted the NTF to ensure Drug Act 1976 and DRAP Act 2012 are enforced in letter and spirit. The task force regularly shares data regarding the manufacture of counterfeit drugs with all provinces.
PQCB has initiated legal proceedings against the companies based on the data shared by the National Task Force.
In Punjab alone, NTF has sealed 23 production plants of pharmaceutical companies manufacturing spurious drugs in the last two months. Out of those, 21 plants were manufacturing fake herbal drugs while 2 were distributing counterfeit allopathic medicine in the market. Drug inspectors also collected 130 samples of herbal and allopathic medicine for tests at the DRAP labs.
19 out of the 23 sealed production plants are located in Lahore. 12 of these units are situated in Sundar Industrial State, 3 in Thokar Niaz Baig, 2 each at Sheikhupura and Ferozpur Road. 2 sealed units were in Multan while one each is situated in Sheikhupura and Bahawalpur.
Via: Express Tribune
