Offences related to life-saving medicine on the rise in Telangana, DCA annual data indicates

The TSDCA, which has been actively overseeing and identifying offenses related to medicines in Telangana State, reported a significant rise in seizures. The total number of cases for violations of various Acts surged to 573 in 2023, up from just 56 cases initiated in the previous year.

Hyderabad: In a clear indication of rising number of offenses related to life-saving medicines, including sale and manufacture of spurious and not-of-standard quality (NSQ) drugs, the retailing of medicines without a valid license and stocking to sell medicines by quacks, the Telangana State Drug Control Administration (TSDCA) has seized drugs worth Rs 7.46 crore in the year 2024.

The TSDCA, which has been actively monitoring and detecting offenses related to medicines in Telangana State, said that the total seizures conducted for breaches of various Acts has increased to 573 in 2023 from 56 cases that were initiated in 2023.

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In the process, the DCA, in its annual report 2024 presented by DG, V B Kamalsan Reddy, has seized medicines worth Rs 7.46 crore and during the raids conducted in the year 2024, spurious drugs worth Rs 2.36 crore were seized.

The TSDCA also has collaborated with the Prohibition and Excise department to seize medicines worth Rs 11.32 crore in the year 2024. The DCA also seized drugs worth Rs 61.61 lakh from quacks, who had illegally stocked the medicines in their clinics for sale.

The TSDCA annual report 2024 also discloses the rise in offenses that are related Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) drugs. The Drug Control Laboratory of TSDCA has reported 130 drugs as NSQ in 2024 (till 20 December) while in 2023 it was 79. Based on the data provided by TSDCA, the percentage of NSQ drugs is at 3.33 percent in 2024 while it was 1.73 percent in 2023.

Some of the other key achievements for TSDCA include setting up a US Food and Drug Control Administration (US FDA)-Telangana DCA Regulatory Forum for future strategic collaboration and initiatives, as Telangana State has about 200 USFDA registered manufacturing sites i.e. pharmaceutical companies that manufacture, export medicines to USA.

Key highlights of TSDCA:

· Total number of seizures for various offenses: 2023: 56 seizures : 2024: 573 seizures

· Spurious drugs rackets busted: 8 cases

· Price violation: 79 cases

· Misleading advertisements: 199 cases

· Quacks with unlicensed stocking of drugs: 136 cases

· Unlicensed medical shops/godowns: 98 cases

· Drugs sold as nutraceuticals: 44 cases

· Total worth of medicines seized by DCA: Rs 7.4 crore

· Worth of spurious drugs seized: Rs 2.36 crore

· Drugs seized from quacks: Rs 61.61 lakh

· DCA plus Prohibition Excise: 11.32 crore

· Total NSQ (Not of Standard Quality) drugs analyzed: 3909

· NSQ declared 130 drugs

· Number of convictions in 2023: 61 (68 percent)

· Number of convictions in 2024: 92 (76 percent)