Hyderabad: Telangana Drug Control Administration (TSDCA) officials conducted a raid at Bluten Pharmacy in Pet Basheerabad, Quthbullapur, on Saturday, February 17, and found that ‘Vitency capsules’ were falsely manufactured under food license (FSSAI License) and claimed as a food product or a nutraceutical.
The capsules, produced at Knox Life Sciences in Gullarwala village, Solan district, Himachal Pradesh, were being unlawfully marketed by Axenic Healthcare in Malakpet as nutraceuticals. The product claims to be containing therapeutic doses of vitamins.
The capsules were identified as drugs under Schedule V of the Drugs Rules, used to treat vitamin deficiencies according to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, as stated by TSDCA in a press release.
The manufacturing of ‘Vitency capsules’ requires a valid drug license under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, complying with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) outlined in Schedule M of the Drugs Rules, and meeting quality standards specified in Schedule V of the Drugs Rules and the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
During the raid at Bluten Pharmacy, DCA officers confiscated 30 Vitency capsules.
Similar incidents of drugs manufactured using food license were previously identified by TSDCA in November 2023 and January 2024, leading to the declaration of these products as ‘spurious’ by the Drugs Control Laboratory, Hyderabad, due to the absence of active ingredients.
The production and sale of drugs without a valid drug license are punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, with a potential imprisonment of up to five years, as highlighted by TSDCA.
