Gandhinagar, Mar 6 (IANS): The Gujarat government on Saturday admitted in the state assembly that the Ahmedabad patient who was administered a dose of fake Tosilizumeb injection had died later. The state government had nabbed five involved in the manufacturing of the fake injections. Tosilizumeb, a costly drug, is believed to be vital in the corona infection treatment.
Answering an unstarred question raised by Vankaner legislator Mohammed Pirzada, the Deputy Chief Minister and also the health minister, Nitin Patel replied that the Foods and Drugs Control Authority (FDCA) had nabbed five persons believed to be involved in the manufacturing of fake Tosilizumeb injections on July 27, 2020. The manufacturers of the fake injection had prepared 30 vials of one ml into 250 milligrams off the fake drug.
The Minister also informed the House that all the 30 vials of the fake drug were sold in Ahmedabad district. Out of that, only one vial was administered to a female patient in a private hospital in Ahmedabad.
"The female patient, Lataben Baldua (60) was a comorbid patient, with many complications. She was discharged from the private hospital and later she died at home," Hemant Koshiya, the FDCA Commissioner, told IANS.
The Gujarat FDCA had unearthed a racket in the manufacture and sale of fake Tocilizumeb injections, seizing machinery and raw material valued at Rs 8 lakh from a Surat premises in July last year.
Dr Devang Shah, a medico in a private hospital, had stumbled upon the racket while using 400mg Tocilizumeb injection of dubious quality during the treatment of a patient from Memnagar. The injection was procured by her relative.
Shah and the relative had complained to the FDCA regarding the fake injection allegedly procured from M/s Maa Pharmacy in Sabarmati in Ahmedabad for Rs 1,35,000.
"While tracing the source pharmacy, it was found that the fake injection was procured from Harsh Bharatbhai Thakor of Chandkheda in Ahmedabad. Harsh in turn said that he had procured it from Nilesh Laliwala, the owner of Happy Chemist and Protein House in Paldi in Ahmedabad," FDCA Commissioner Hemant Koshiya said.
"Nilesh told us that he had procured the injections from one Sohail Ismail Tai in Surat."
"The FDCA raided Sohail's house in Surat, and seized filling and sealing machines, a coding machine, raw material, packaging material, valued at Rs 8 lakh," added Koshiya.
Sohail used to produce fake Nandrolone Decanoate 250 mg/ml injections in the name of Genic Pharma. Harsh Thakor and Nilesh Laliwala used to label these as Tocilizumeb injections of 250 mg/ml under 'Acterma' brand, which is owned by Cipla, the only importer of Tocilizumab in India, according to an FDCA official.