Take action against 9 drug manufacturers, says Opposition

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 25

The Opposition on Tuesday demanded stringent action against nine de-addiction drug companies, whose samples failed quality test. It also flagged missing tablets of Buprenorphine-Naloxone on the third day of the Budget session.

The medicine was used to treat heroin addicts in the state.

Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, SAD legislator from Banga, raised the matter and demanded the state government should take strict action against the nine defaulter companies, whose medicines had been found “not of standard quality”. He said that due to low salt in the medicine, the addicts were bound to relapse and the entire therapy could prove futile.

He also raised the matter concerning five crore tablets of Buprenorphine-Naloxone, which were sold by private de-addiction centres illegally.

The Tribune has raised both issues through a series of stories. In a news report that appeared on February 7, The Tribune had reported that de-addiction drug Buprenorphine-Naloxone of nine companies was “not of standard quality”.

The entire de-addiction programme in the state had come under scanner.

As per tests conducted at the state drug testing laboratory by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the amount of salt in the medicine of nine manufacturers were found less than the prescribed limit. The FDA had collected samples from several de-addiction centres.

The government is already struggling with the issue of illegal sale of more than five crore tablets of Buprenorphine-Naxlone by private centres in just 11 months. The government had served notice on 23 de-addiction centres and a pharmaceutical company under the NDPS Act. The government is trying to find out that whether the tablets had gone into the hands of unauthorised persons or were sold off illegally.

Samples failed earlier as well

The samples of three of the nine companies failed the quality test in the past as well. In 2018, the FDA had found that the de-addiction medicines manufactured by the three companies were found containing salt beyond the prescribed limit. Their analysis confirmed that the medicines contained 17 to 25 per cent more salt than allowed. The FDA had initiated prosecution proceedings against the companies.

No end to farmers’ woes, claims SAD

The Opposition parties tried to corner the government over agrarian crisis, mafia and various other issues during a debate on the Governor’s address. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Harinder Singh Chandumajra said the government had claimed that Rs4,700 crore debt of farmers had been waived in three years. He said during the same period, the banks had imposed penalties of Rs1,000 crore on farmers as fine for not repaying loan. Chandumajra said there was no stopping farm suicides, but the government had failed to come out with any permanent solution.

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