Supreme Court admits PIL against Ranbaxy
Ranbaxy received support from India’s director general of health services on Friday, even as it faced further setbacks
Mumbai: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, which said last month it reached a $500 million settlement with the US food and drug administration (FDA) for falsifying data and selling substandard drugs, received support from a top government official amid further setbacks on Friday, which included the Supreme Court admitting a petition seeking cancellation of its manufacturing licence and the prosecution of directors.
add_main_imageJagdish Prasad, director general of health services, said the issue had been unnecessarily highlighted and that the company’s drugs were not substandard.
“Ranbaxy is a reputed company and misconceptions have been created regarding it,” he said in an interview. The Directorate General of Health Services is part of the health ministry.NextMAds
Prasad said questions regarding the quality of drugs arose because of glitches in the manufacturing process at the plants. “The regulations in the US are very different from the ones in India,” he added.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, India’s biggest hospital chain, has said it had put Ranbaxy drugs on watch based on concerns raised by its medical oversight committee.
“We have been working closely with Ranbaxy over the past week to verify all necessary certifications of their drugs. The matter is in the process of being resolved as Ranbaxy continues to provide the necessary paperwork,” said Apollo, which runs 50 hospitals in India.
Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital earlier banned medicines supplied by Ranbaxy, according to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Supreme Court lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma.
Officials at Ranbaxy Laboratories declined to comment.
Sharma’s PIL blamed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization for not taking action against the pharmaceutical company over the FDA settlement.sixthMAds
“The Indian authorities are acting blind. This is a heinous crime,” Sharma said in a phone interview. The petitioner also sought the prosecution of Ranbaxy’s current and former directors.
The Drugs Controller General of India, India’s pharmaceutical industry regulator, is in the process of scrutinizing all drug applications and dossiers filed by Ranbaxy Laboratories, as well as court documents presented in the US, to check if there have been any breaches of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Mint reported on 24 May, citing drugs controller general of India G.N. Singh.
“Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, we will take action against the erring company,” Singh said in an interview.
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First Published:7 Jun 2013, 11:48 PM IST
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