Drug haul : Avon Lifesciences denies any wrongdoings

Mumbai : Pharma company Avon Lifesciences, which has been in news for a massive drug seizure over the weekend, clarified that it has all valid licences and statutory registrations for manufacturing, stocking and selling all products manufactured at its Solapur unit and the products seized are in fact stolen from its premises.

Last week, in one of the biggest drug hauls in the state, the Thane police had seized 18.5 tonne of banned drug Ephedrine, valued at Rs 2,000 crore, from the Solapur facility of Avon Lifesciences.

"The company wants to assure all stakeholders that we have all valid licenses and statutory registrations for manufacturing, stocking and sale of all products manufactured at our Solapur site. Also, all the materials have been accounted for and stocked with due notice to statutory authorities concerned.

"The matter concerned revolves around theft of some material and we are ascertaining the same in active cooperation with the investigating authorities," Avon Lifesciences said in a statement.

Responding to various media reports about drug seizure at its unit located in Solapur, the company said it is cooperating with the relevant investigating authorities and the FDA to get to the facts around this incident. The company management is cooperating in the matter with the relevant authorities, the release said.

The company has all relevant licences to manufacture, hold inventory and sale of Ephedrine Hydrochloride and Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride which are controlled substance and classified under the narcotics category, the company claimed.

Company sources claimed that the valuation being reported by the cops are too botched up as the market price for a kg of these substances are only Rs 3,800-4,000, making the overall valuation at Rs 7-8 crore and not Rs 2,000 crore.

The Rs 2,000 crore value quoted in media reports is believed to be street value based on 18,500 kg, subject to the said material being further processed and then sold illegally in drug trade. Ephedrine, by itself, is not an API that can be misused and hence this material that has been seized along with stock at the factory is medicinal and holds zero street value, the company said.