Chandigarh: The Haryana Food and Drugs Administration has cracked a counterfeit pharmaceutical-grade chemical racket in Faridabad, with officials warning that the seized consignment could pose a life-threatening risk if contaminated beyond permissible limits. Propylene Glycol is widely used as an excipient in the manufacture of cough syrups and several other pharmaceutical formulations, making its quality and purity critical for patient safety, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Sumita Misra, disclosed on Wednesday.
Dr. Misra said the crackdown comes under the department’s zero-tolerance policy against the manufacture, distribution and sale of spurious and counterfeit medicines, being steered under the guidance of Health Minister Aarti Rao, along with Food and Drugs Administration Commissioner Dr. Manoj Kumar and State Drugs Controller Ripan Mehta.
Dr. Misra said that, to the best of the department’s knowledge, this is the first case in India involving the alleged counterfeiting and repackaging of pharmaceutical-grade Propylene Glycol under the brand identity of an established manufacturer. She added that contamination of Propylene Glycol with Diethylene Glycol (DEG) or Ethylene Glycol (EG) has been linked to deaths reported in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in recent months.
According to the disclosure, a team of FDA officers from Faridabad raided the premises of M/s Kokana Asia Ingredients Private Limited at Plot No. 910, Sector-69, IMT, Faridabad, on July 28, acting on a specific complaint that counterfeit Propylene Glycol was being sold under the reputed Manali brand name.
Officials said the inspection exposed an alleged repackaging operation in which industrial-grade Propylene Glycol was being decanted into drums bearing the labels and markings of M/s Manali Petrochemicals Limited, passing off the product as genuine output of the established manufacturer. The raiding team seized 42 drums of Propylene Glycol, empty Chinese-origin industrial-grade Propylene Glycol drums, a transfer pump, sealing covers carrying the Manali Petrochemicals name, and sealing wire under Form-16, while one sample was drawn under Form-17 for laboratory analysis. The total seizure amounting to Rs. 24,83,250/-.
Dr. Misra flagged the gravity of the find, noting that the sample has been sent for testing to determine whether it contains Diethylene Glycol or Ethylene Glycol impurities beyond permissible limits. Contamination of this kind, she said, can trigger severe toxicity, including acute kidney injury and neurological complications, and can prove fatal particularly among children and other vulnerable patients.
Citing prima facie evidence of the manufacture and sale of spurious and counterfeit drugs, officials confirmed that the firm’s Manager was arrested under the applicable provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and produced before the competent court for further legal proceedings.
