2011

Our latest round-up of spurious news items from around the world includes enforcement actions in Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, the UK, Philippines and India.

A pharmaceutical company in Pakistan- Century Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd - has been closed down by police after raids led to the seizure of Rs 20 million-worth of drugs. The firm is alleged to have been manufacturing bogus versions of an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis known as cycloserine which it sold as Closerin, according to a report carried by the Tribune newspaper. The company's licence to produce the drug expired in January 2011. The owners of the company, Aftab Jafri and Yahya Jafri, are still in custody, says the article.

Police in the Czech Republic say they have broken up an organised crime network involved in the manufacture of spurious anabolic steroids and other drugs, reports Czech Position. Eight Czech nationals and three Slovaks have been arrested in the operation, which revealed a covert production facility in the eastern Zlin region of the country. A raid at the factory yielded "hundreds of thousands" of fake tablets, says the article.

A man and woman in Vietnam have been found guilty of distributing spurious copies of Pfizer's erectile dysfunction Viagra (sildenafil) by the Hanoi People's Court. Hoang Thi Hong, a medical representative, received two years for her part in the crime, while compatriot Nguyen Ba Hai was sentenced to three years, saysThanh Nien News.

A man from north London, UK, has been sentenced to 12 months in jail for importing and possessing spurious medicinal products, namely fake versions of GlaxoSmithKline's asthma inhaler Seretide Evohaler (salmeterol xinafoate 25mcg and fluticasone propionate 250mcg). Premal Gandesha was found guilty by Harrow Crown Court after a two-week trial. Co-defendants Sandeep Gohil and Anand Mehta were acquitted of the charges.

An investigation into counterfeiting of medicines by the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation - assisted by drugmaker Unilab - has led to raids at several Sincere Drug Store outlets and a warehouse operated by the chain. The general manager of the chain - Ricky Enriquez - has insisted that the medicines seized were not fake and were supplied by Unilab's authorised distributor Negros Grand Ventures Industries. Sincere is said to be considering legal action against the Unilab and the NBI, reports the Sun-Star newspaper.

Three men have been arrested in India on suspicion of being involved in the selling of spurious medicines, reports Prokerala News. Two of the men - CGHS' Ravinder Singh and Bacha Singh - are employees of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). The third man has been identified as Anil Yadav.  

SOURCE : Securing Pharma