HYDERABAD: With fake medicines for rare diseases like Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome being seized by Drugs Control Administration in recent days, doctors and parents are alarmed. As most rare diseases do not have cure and patients may be given supportive treatment for symptoms, fake medicines can have a detrimental effect.
In the recent case, DCA officials had seized a stock of Thiamine Hydrochloride Tablets 100 mg, a medicine to treat beriberi disease, neuritis associated with pregnancy and treat Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome from Mancherial. The drug was manufactured under a food licence at Space Healthcare, Kambohpura, Haryana and was found in circulation here.
Usage of fake drugs, whether having a wrong proportion of the ingredient, a harmful substance or no active ingredient at all, is equally dangerous.
“Most drugs are first metabolised by the liver as the vital organ is the detoxifying agent and is then excreted by the kidney. In case of pregnant women, it can damage the foetus or cause deformity too, while in other patients it can lead to organ damage. In conditions like beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff, medicines have to be taken for a long period of time and fake medicines are most likely to cause damage to the liver and kidney,” said Dr Kiran Madhala, chairman, scientific committee, Indian Medical Association (IMA).
In previous cases, where a drug was found to be manufactured without a proper licence, the tests confirmed that the drugs were spurious. “Similar cases of ‘drugs’ being manufactured under a ‘food licence’ were detected by the DCA, Telangana, in Nov 2023 and Jan 2024, which were declared as spurious by the Drugs Control Laboratory, Hyderabad, as the content of the active ingredient was found to be ‘NIL’ (zero drug) in the products,” DCA Telangana director general said VB Kamalasan Reddy said, adding that usage of such products could be harmful.
In the recent case, DCA officials had seized a stock of Thiamine Hydrochloride Tablets 100 mg, a medicine to treat beriberi disease, neuritis associated with pregnancy and treat Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome from Mancherial. The drug was manufactured under a food licence at Space Healthcare, Kambohpura, Haryana and was found in circulation here.
Usage of fake drugs, whether having a wrong proportion of the ingredient, a harmful substance or no active ingredient at all, is equally dangerous.
“Most drugs are first metabolised by the liver as the vital organ is the detoxifying agent and is then excreted by the kidney. In case of pregnant women, it can damage the foetus or cause deformity too, while in other patients it can lead to organ damage. In conditions like beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff, medicines have to be taken for a long period of time and fake medicines are most likely to cause damage to the liver and kidney,” said Dr Kiran Madhala, chairman, scientific committee, Indian Medical Association (IMA).
In previous cases, where a drug was found to be manufactured without a proper licence, the tests confirmed that the drugs were spurious. “Similar cases of ‘drugs’ being manufactured under a ‘food licence’ were detected by the DCA, Telangana, in Nov 2023 and Jan 2024, which were declared as spurious by the Drugs Control Laboratory, Hyderabad, as the content of the active ingredient was found to be ‘NIL’ (zero drug) in the products,” DCA Telangana director general said VB Kamalasan Reddy said, adding that usage of such products could be harmful.
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