Another Baddi firm loses product licence

Ambika Sharma

Solan, May 16

The State Drugs Controller (SDC) today cancelled product licence of all psychotropic drugs manufactured by a Baddi-based company, Biogenetic Drugs, after it failed to produce details of the purchaser of the drugs.

The action comes after the issuance of a three-day show-cause notice to the unit after it was found that it had not disclosed details like drug quantity, batch number and purchaser’s address to the SDC as well as the Superintendent of Police, Baddi, in past one year in violation of the norms.

Biogenetic Drugs is the second unit to face action in a week. Earlier, the product permissions of all psychotropic drugs of its sister concern, Smilex Pharmachem Drug Industry, were cancelled. An FIR had been registered against the unit by the Punjab’s Special Task Force at Mohali on February 20 where the probe revealed that the psychotropic drugs manufactured here were diverted to Punjab for illegal sale. Since drugs like Alprazolam are misused by addicts, it seems the unit was making profits by manufacturing such drugs.

As per the joint probe conducted by the Punjab STF and officials of the Drugs Control Administration, Baddi, the firm had manufactured over 21 crore Alprazolam 0.5 tablets of various brands since May 6, 2023.

They had purchased 139 kg of Alprazolam as raw material since May 2023, while 40 kg was the stock in hand. It was taken into possession by the Punjab STF under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Besides, over 400 kg of codeine raw material was found on the premises of the said unit. A stock of 1.97 crore Alprazolam tablets was found on the premises. All stocks have been frozen by the authorities pending an investigation.

A committee led by the Assistant Licensing Authority was also probing the scale of manufacturing of psychotropic drugs by the unit where the details of purchase of the raw material as well as distribution and sale of such drugs were being enquired into.