Illegal drugs: DRAP seeks action against company

LAHORE: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approached the FIA with a request to take action against a pharmaceutical company allegedly involved in manufacturing and selling drugs illegally, The News has learnt.

Sources within DRAP told this correspondent that with the approval of CEO, Deputy Director (Legal Affairs) Aamir Latif wrote a letter to FIA for action against M/s Everest Pharma for allegedly manufacturing and selling over 20 drugs in contraventions to the Drug Act 1976 and DRAP Act 2012.

The Authority claimed that the Everest Pharma was involved in multiple crimes, including importing raw material through illegal means, manufacturing and selling of unregistered/spurious drugs and online selling of unregistered/spurious sex inducing tablet Everlong 60 mg through www.sehat.com.pk

The Everest Pharma is owned by Chaudhry Muhammad Usman, brother-in-law of a serving regional police officer in Punjab. In its letter, the DRAP stated investigation had revealed that M/s Everest was manufacturing not less than 12 spurious and unregistered drugs including Everlong 60 mg tablet, Penboll Plus 300 mg/100 mg, Sankol Plus 200 mg/2 mg, Syrup MTD, Chill tablet, M Plus tablet, Samprid tablet, Capsule Reap, Link tablet, Capsule Silk, Leena tablet and Esper 40/30 in the country.

Furthermore, the DRAP’s investigation showed that the pharmaceutical company was also manufacturing as many as 10 unregistered and spurious drugs bearing fictitious registration numbers including Samprid capsules (Registration No 070209), Moon B Syrup (Registration No 0681713), Moon B tablet (Registration No 068705), Eversafe syrup (Registration No 070252), Eversafe tablet (Registration No 070253), Piratiz tablet (Registration No 068766), Meek tablet (Registration No 068730), Cardol tablet (Registration No 072074), Turn tablet (Registration No 070165) and Hyd tablet (Registration No. 068765).

The federal and provincial drug inspectors have also been communicated the same with directions to take legal actions as per the information, it added. “Foregoing in view, appropriate action may be initiated against owner of M/s Everest Pharma, Ch Muhammad Usman for contraventions of Drug Act 1976 and Drug Act 2012,” the letter reads.

Furthermore, the Authority made it clear that the Drug Registration Board of DRAP in its 263rd meeting held on 29th and 30th November 2016 had declared that application of registration of the tablet “Everlong” was neither presented before it nor it approved. “The DRAP has already declared the purported registration letter of the tablet Everlong as void an initio vide letter no 8-8/2016/Reg-III (M-263) dated 11th January 2017.”

It may be relevant to mention that the FIA and federal as well as provincial inspectors have registered cases against the company in the recent past for its alleged illegal manufacturing and selling of the medicines. Minister for National Health Service, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tara had also informed the Senate in writing during its 248th Session held on May 19, 2016 that from 2015 to 2017, the DRAP, FIA and drugs inspectors conducted six raids against the Everest Pharma in various parts of the country and seized its illegal manufactured drugs.

The authorities conducted raids on February 15 and 16, 2016 from M/s Hafeez Sons Medicine Company, opposite DHQ Hospital Lahore Sargodha Road Sheikhupura, on Nov 26, 2015 in Sargodha on Nov 24, 2015 in Multan and on March 1, 2015.

Similarly, the DRAP and FIA have jointly raided at the factory of the Everest Pharma in Kahuta Industrial Area during 2015 and sealed it for illegal production of medicines. When contacted, the owner of Everest Pharma confirmed to The News that DRAP had got cases registered against his company in the past, but claimed that it was done allegedly to facilitate their competitors. “The Authority took actions against my company with a mala fide intention but later on we succeed in courts,” he maintained.

“Two registered FIRs by the FIA have already been quashed by the courts,” Usman said, adding, “Everest isn’t involved in any illegal manufacturing and selling of drugs in the country.”

Responding to a question, he said a team of DRAP visited his factory only a couple of days back and expressed their ‘satisfaction’ over the manufacturing of drugs there. About cancellation of registration of certain medicines, he claimed that those medicines are still very much registered.

DRAP’s Aamir Latif on Thursday confirmed to this correspondent that they had forwarded a request to FIA for taking action against the Everest. To a question why DRAP is referring a matter to FIA instead of taking action on its own, the official stated that the Authority had been taking actions against all such illegal activities but “we also take along other agencies like FIA to fulfil other legal formalities”.

Without confirming what actions DRAP took against its official (s) who issued the alleged fake registration letter to M/s Everest Pharma, Aamir stated that to make the process of drug registration more stringent, three signatories had been put in place. He also refuted the claim of the owner of the Company that DRAP was involved in any kind of victimisation or it was taking actions against it with any mala fide intention.