Shocking: Pharmacist Arrested for selling medicines meant for animals

THANE: In a shocking revelation, Drugs meant for the treatment of animals has found being sold to the patients by a pharmacy in the Naupada area of Thane, Maharashtra.

TOI reports The Naupada police have arrested a pharmacist and the partner of the pharmacy for allegedly selling drugs to patients which were meant to treat animals but were wrongly labeled. The arrest came after the Maharashtra FDA officials, during a routine inspection discovered the wrong-doings of the pharmacy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now booked the pharmacist and partner of the pharmacy Lifecare Medico situated in Naupada, Thane under various sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 for allegedly selling animal drugs to patients with wrong labeling.

Speaking with TOI, assistant commissioner (medicine) Girish Hukare said that the FDA has served notices to cancel the license of the pharmacy, Lifecare Medico when the department came across crucial irregularity during a regular inspection.

Hukare further told TOI, “On October 24, our officers were conducting a check inside the pharma store and saw 82 of these incorrectly labeled. The top layer of the label stated that it was for humans, while on the inner sticker it was written that the dosage was for animal treatment and not for human use. We are looking into the case and have seized around 3,000 such drugs from a few distributors in Thane and a wholesaler in Ghaziabad. We are also making inquiries with the manufacturer located in Punjab to verify if it was a labeling mistake.”

Among the 82 wrong labeled drugs, there was also the drug Oxytocin which is issued to pregnant women post delivery in case of excessive bleeding or to induce labour pains claimed the officials.

“We are looking into the sale and as to how many hospitals it was sold to. So far we have not come across any medical complaints,” Hukare added.

In their defense, the partner, Ravindra Shirole and pharmacist Lalita Jhinzad, claimed that they were unaware about the drug being mislabeled from Oxymac to Oxytocin and sold, investigations are underway.

There is a huge difference in human and animal physiology accordingly, which the doctors, treatment, and medication for both are completely different, that’s why animal medication normally comes with a warning ‘not fit for human consumption’.