Stop sale of counterfeit Sildenafil drugs, DCA to druggists

Hyderabad: The Telangana Drug Control Administration (DCA) has cautioned the public about the sale of a counterfeit version of Sildenafil, a drug supposed to cure erectile dysfunction. It asked druggists to stop the sale and notify the batch of injections being sold under the brand name of ‘Pulmosil Injection’ 10 mg/12.5 ml (with batch number KFA0300, mfg Dt 06/23 with expiry date of 05/25) purportedly manufactured by the Sun Pharmaceutical industries in Turkapally on city outskirts.

DCA director-general VB Kamalasan Reddy said fungus has been found in sealed vials of the counterfeit product. In the light of these grave findings, the DCA issued a ‘spurious / counterfeit drug alert and a stop use notice’. He said the product could be identified by these parameters, while the counterfeit injection has ‘white flip-off seal’, the original has a ‘violet flip-off seal; the label edges are sharp or straight, while the original has ‘curve edged labels or rounded corners’. The contents in the counterfeit have a ‘light pale yellow colour solution’, while the original has ‘clear colourless solution’.

The DCA has ordered chemists and druggists to stop the sale and distribution of the counterfeit injection and report to the drugs inspector concerned immediately. It urged people to pass on information about any counterfeit or spurious drugs on its toll-free number 1800-599-6969.