DCA raids godown for storing drugs illegally

Hyderabad: In a joint operation, the Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA), along with the Prohibition and Excise Department, busted a godown belonging to Aspen Biopharma, which was storing illegally manufactured and stocked bulk drugs that contained Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) at Muduchintalpally, Medchal-Malkajgiri district.

During the raid, stocks of drugs including anticancer, antiviral, antifungal, anticoagulants, antidepressants, and more worth Rs 96 lakhs were seized by the DCA and Excise Department officials.

According to the DCA, Kadari Sateesh Reddy of Aspen Biopharma, an alleged habitual offender in several cases with the DCA, was reportedly operating the go-down where the illegal stocks were detected. He is the prime accused in the spurious anti-cancer drugs case detected at Machabollaram in December 2023.

V B Kamalasan Reddy, Director General, DCA, said that Sateesh Reddy is also the key conspirator in the illicit manufacturing of APIs at Annarugudem village, Tallada mandal, Khammam district, which was detected in the same month.

Officials said that the stocks of bulk drugs and APIs present in the go-down are in LDPE bags and only bear the name of the bulk drug. Certain stocks bear only the code names of the APIs. The batch and manufacturer details are not indicated on the API stocks found, indicating unlicensed manufacturing of the APIs. Drugs manufactured by unlicensed entities pose a severe threat to public health. They do not adhere to any ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’ (GMP), and according to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, drugs must be manufactured in ISO-8 clean rooms while adhering to GMP.