Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, seized drug stock worth ₹18.71 lakh in Nagpur as part of a statewide crackdown on medicines with confusingly similar names — action that also covered Pune and Bhiwandi, taking the total seizure to over ₹2.45 crore.
Concerned companies have been ordered to immediately withdraw the entire stock from the market.Routine inspections found that some newly marketed medicines used names nearly identical to already-available drugs, differing only by a small “additional” mark, while keeping packaging, labelling and font style largely similar to the original.
This raised the risk of doctors, chemists or patients mistakenly prescribing, selling or consuming the wrong drug.Mundhe said the risk of confusion between drugs due to similar names is a serious public health concern, and strict adherence to naming, labelling and sale regulations is essential, as access to safe medicines is a fundamental right of citizens.
The FDA has directed the companies concerned to recall the stock, and said further investigation is underway, with legal action to follow as required under law. Citizens and chemists have been asked to check drug names and composition carefully before use, consult a doctor or pharmacist in case of doubt, and promptly report suspicious medicines to the department.
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