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The action follows an August 18 raid by the FDA’s Drug Enforcement Wing at a farmhouse in Kurubarakeranahalli, Bidadi
News18
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FDA) has cancelled licences of 16 pharmacies and suspended eight others in connection with the alleged supply and distribution of spurious drugs linked to a racket busted at a farmhouse in Bidadi.
The action follows an August 18 raid by the FDA’s Drug Enforcement Wing at a farmhouse in Kurubarakeranahalli, Bidadi, where officials seized spurious drugs, packaging material and machinery worth around Rs 5.05 crore.
According to the FDA, the premises were allegedly being used for illegal repacking and relabelling of medicines.
Preliminary investigation found that low-cost medicines procured from other states were allegedly being refilled into new vials and relabelled as expensive life-saving drugs of multinational brands, including products carrying forged Pfizer labels. The FDA said the QR/scanning codes on the counterfeit labels were found to be non-functional.
THE LIST
Karnataka FDA in release said that, 24 licences were acted upon — 16 cancelled and 8 suspended. They include:
Licences Cancelled — 16
1. M/s Avesco Healthcare — Bengaluru — Wholesale
2. M/s Bangalore Speciality Pharma — Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
3. M/s Bengalurus Speciality Pharma — Museum Road, Bengaluru — Wholesale
4. M/s Patel Medi Trade — Gubbalala, Bengaluru — Wholesale
5. M/s Rajarajeshwari Pharma — Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
6. M/s NS Pharma — Hubballi — Wholesale
7. M/s Surya Specialty Pharma — Kumaraswamy Layout, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
8. M/s SWS Pharma — K.G. Halli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
9. M/s Krupa Healthcare — Mavalli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
10. M/s St. Philomena Hospital Drug Centre (Main Pharmacy) — Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
11. M/s Sagar Pharma (Div. of Sagar Healthcare and Diagnostic Services Pvt Ltd) — Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
12. M/s Zymus Pharma — Raghuvanahalli, Bengaluru — Retail
13. M/s Fortune Medical Solutions — BSK 3rd Stage, Bengaluru — Wholesale
14. M/s Excelcare Pharma (Unit of Excelcare Health Alliance Pvt Ltd) — BSK 2nd Stage, Bengaluru — Wholesale
15. M/s Patel Medicals — Padmanabhanagar, Bengaluru — Retail
16. M/s Bangalore Speciality Pharma — Chamarajpet, Bengaluru — Wholesale
Licences Suspended — 8
17. M/s Med Pharma — Doddakammanahalli, Bengaluru — Wholesale
18. M/s Surya Speciality Hospital — Bommasandra, Bengaluru — Wholesale
19. M/s Sagar Pharma (Unit-II) — Tilaknagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
20. M/s Vivantha Pharmaceuticals — Jayanagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
21. M/s Maruthi Medicals — Vijayanagar, Bengaluru — Wholesale
22. M/s Viva Pharma — Belagavi — Wholesale
23. M/s Hi-5 Pharma — K.G. Halli, Bengaluru — Wholesale & Retail
24. M/s Pfizer Ltd — Kempanalinganahalli, Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural — Wholesale
The FDA says these actions were taken against retailers/wholesalers involved in the sale and supply of the spurious drugs.
THE SEIZURE
Among the seized material were 5,640 vials of CEFIAVIGENT 2.5 injection, 1,531 vials of HIZLAM injectables, 264 vials of EMBLAVEO carrying a Pfizer label, along with other injectable medicines, 30 boxes of expired drugs, injection-filling machinery and forged labels and stamps. The total estimated value of the seized material was put at Rs 5.05 crore.
The FDA has also blocked the relevant drug batch numbers on its portal to prevent further sale or distribution. Samples of the seized medicines have been sent to a government laboratory for testing of their chemical composition, sterility and potency.
As part of the ongoing investigation, licences of 16 retailers and wholesalers have been cancelled, while eight licences have been suspended. The licence of the Pfizer C&F Depot at Kempalinganahalli in Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural district, has also been suspended.
The FDA said criminal proceedings have been initiated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The department has classified the medicines as spurious drugs under Section 17B, while offences involving their manufacture, sale, stocking or distribution attract action under Section 27.
The Special Investigation Team is continuing its probe to trace the wider supply chain and identify other people allegedly involved in the racket.
The FDA has urged the public to purchase medicines only from licensed pharmacies and to insist on valid bills. It has also asked consumers to alert drug enforcement authorities if they notice suspicious packaging or QR codes that do not scan.
Health Minister U T Khader, reacting to the action against pharmacies, said the investigation had uncovered a large-scale network and that the government was also tracking links to the racket in other states.
Khader said Pfizer had not cooperated with the government, but despite being an international company, authorities had seized its stock as part of the investigation. He maintained that medicines supplied to government hospitals were safe and said further details would be shared after the SIT submits its report.
“We have detected a large-scale network. We have also traced the network in other states. Whoever they are, no matter how big they are, we will not spare anyone,” Khader said.
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Ask News18The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration cancelled the licences of 16 pharmacies and suspended eight others, including a Pfizer C&F Depot, due to their alleged involvement in supplying and distributing spurious drugs.
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Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India’s space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and R…Read More
September 20, 2026, 6:33 PM IST
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