₹5 Cr Fake Drug Seizure Exposes Gaps in Medicine Supply Chains

Karnataka’s Food and Drug Administration has intensified action against an alleged counterfeit medicine network, cancelling 16 drug licences and suspending eight others after investigators uncovered what officials described as an illegal repacking and relabelling operation near Bengaluru. Suspected spurious medicines, machinery and printing material worth around ₹5.05 crore were seized during the investigation.

The case began with an August 18 raid on a farmhouse in Kurubarakeranahalli near Bidadi. According to the FDA, inexpensive medicines sourced from other states were allegedly transferred into fresh vials and relabelled to resemble expensive life-saving products from multinational pharmaceutical companies. Investigators also recovered products carrying Pfizer branding, though the probe concerns suspected counterfeiting and distribution rather than a finding that Pfizer manufactured the seized medicines.

Packaging recovered at the facility reportedly included QR and scanning codes that did not ork when checked. Authorities also seized 30 boxes of expired medicines, raising concern that expired stock could potentially have been repackaged and returned to the supply chain. Samples have now been sent for laboratory testing to establish their chemical composition, sterility and potency.

Regulators are also moving against businesses suspected of involvement in distribution. Alongside the 16 cancellations and eight suspensions, the licence of a Pfizer C&F depot in Bengaluru Rural was suspended over alleged non-cooperation with the Special Investigation Team. The SIT is continuing to trace the wider supply network and identify other individuals or entities that may have been involved.

The case highlights a broader challenge for India’s pharmaceutical supply chain: counterfeit medicines can increasingly mimic legitimate packaging closely enough that verification has to go beyond appearance. Karnataka FDA is now blocking batch details of the seized products on its portal and has advised consumers to buy only from licensed pharmacies, insist on valid invoices and report suspicious packaging or non-functional QR codes.