The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested 10 people for selling injections of amphotericin B, a drug used in the treatment of black fungus disease, at a price 5 times above the maximum retail price. These people were not only making and selling fake medicine of black fungus. Rather, a few days ago, the same racket was caught making fake Remdesivir.
The man, who was caught on 28 April for making fake Remdesivir, came out on bail on 8 May and then started making and selling fake injections of black fungus along with his associates.
According to WHO, 10 percent of the total pharmaceutical market in India and developing countries is counterfeit. According to a US report, 20 percent of counterfeit drugs are made and sold in India alone.
These figures tarnish the image of India's pharmacy in the world. But the more sad part is that these fake medicines and injections can kill someone.
In the first week of June, several patients suffered severe side effects due to fake injections of amphotericin B in three cities of Madhya Pradesh. The investigation in this matter is going on in the state. It is feared that the injections may be fake.
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Today we will tell you about the ways to differentiate between real and fake medicine. Apart from this, you will also get to know where to report this criminal incident that happened to you. You must be thinking that if a fake medicine or injection comes in your hands, then what is the way to check it?
So if you think that the medicine you have bought is fake then you can complain to the drug inspector of your area, but the original bill of the medicine should be with you.
Apart from this, you can also contact the pharmaceutical company to know whether the injection you have received is genuine or not. You can get this information through the batch number of the medicine
There are drug controller offices and drug inspectors in every state of the country. These people periodically pick up batches of medicines and do their chemical analysis. But overall there are less than 50 drug testing centers in the country. Similarly, many posts of Drug Inspector are also lying vacant.
Two years ago, the Drug Technical Advisory Board made two big suggestions. The first is to issue a mobile number on which people can complain about counterfeit medicines or injections. And the second was to make barcodes mandatory on all medicines.
To date, both suggestions have not been implemented. However, some big pharmaceutical companies are putting barcodes at their level to avoid counterfeit medicines.
However, this technology increases the cost of the drug. So until this mandated decision is made, there is no solid way to differentiate between a fake and a genuine drug. But still, if you are being given any medicine without a bill, and if that medicine just looks bad or its price is much more or less than the MRP, then you should be alert.
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