Karnataka government on Thursday (Aug 20) formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an alleged inter-state fake medicine racket uncovered in Bengaluru, with four people now held in connection with the case. The SIT will be headed by Bengaluru (West) Joint Commissioner of Police C Vamsi Krishna. The move comes a day after the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the police, seized spurious medicines worth more than Rs 4.91 crore during raids in Bengaluru South.The investigation is being expanded across the state amid concerns that the seized medicines could be part of a much larger supply network.Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader had said the operation appeared to have links beyond the state. “This appears to be a national level (operation). We will share the details with the Centre, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana states as well. We need a Special Investigation Team to probe into this since it is an inter-state racket,” he said.Officials have so far traced the manufacture of the suspected fake medicines to Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. Investigators are also examining how the drugs entered Bengaluru and which pharmacies and hospitals may have received them.Khader alleged that the suspected kingpin could be operating from Dubai, raising the possibility of an international link. The health department is expected to identify the establishments supplied with the medicines and determine whether patients were administered the suspected drugs over the past two years.The seized medicines included replicas of high-end antibiotics and critical-care drugs, including Emblaveo, Zavicefta, Ceftivent, Xavitaz and Hizlam.According to the health department, the accused allegedly procured cheaper medicines from other states, transferred them into new vials and relabelled them to resemble costly multinational brands and imported medicines.Authorities said the fake products contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and were allegedly made using contaminated or harmful substances.Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, manufacturing, selling, stocking or distributing spurious drugs can attract penalties ranging from 10 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment.&nbsp;

Karnataka formed a six-member SIT after fake medicines worth Rs 4.91 crore were seized in Bengaluru. Four people were held, with investigators probing an interstate network and suspected Dubai link.

Karnataka government on Thursday (Aug 20) formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an alleged inter-state fake medicine racket uncovered in Bengaluru, with four people now held in connection with the case. The SIT will be headed by Bengaluru (West) Joint Commissioner of Police C Vamsi Krishna. The move comes a day after the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the police, seized spurious medicines worth more than Rs 4.91 crore during raids in Bengaluru South. The investigation is being expanded across the state amid concerns that the seized medicines could be part of a much larger supply network. Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader had said the operation appeared to have links beyond the state. “This appears to be a national level (operation). We will share the details with the Centre, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana states as well. We need a Special Investigation Team to probe into this since it is an inter-state racket,” he said. Officials have so far traced the manufacture of the suspected fake medicines to Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. Investigators are also examining how the drugs entered Bengaluru and which pharmacies and hospitals may have received them. Khader alleged that the suspected kingpin could be operating from Dubai, raising the possibility of an international link. The health department is expected to identify the establishments supplied with the medicines and determine whether patients were administered the suspected drugs over the past two years. The seized medicines included replicas of high-end antibiotics and critical-care drugs, including Emblaveo, Zavicefta, Ceftivent, Xavitaz and Hizlam. According to the health department, the accused allegedly procured cheaper medicines from other states, transferred them into new vials and relabelled them to resemble costly multinational brands and imported medicines. Authorities said the fake products contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and were allegedly made using contaminated or harmful substances. Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, manufacturing, selling, stocking or distributing spurious drugs can attract penalties ranging from 10 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment.

Karnataka formed a six-member SIT after fake medicines worth Rs 4.91 crore were seized in Bengaluru. Four people were held, with investigators probing an interstate network and suspected Dubai link.

Fake Pfizer drugs in Bengaluru? 4 held as SIT probes Rs 4.91 crore racket

Several people in Austria were hospitalised after they used suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, the news agency reported on Tuesday (Oct 24) citing the country's health safety regulator BASG. On Monday, the BASG said that patients were reported to have suffered hypoglycaemia, seizures, and other serious side effects.&nbsp;

This indicated the product contained insulin instead of Ozempic's active ingredient semaglutide, the BASG added. The regulator did not mention how many people were hospitalised.

<h2>'Fake injection pens might still be in circulation'</h2>

An investigation has been launched with the criminal investigation service warning that fake injection pens might still be in circulation. Last week, the European Medicines Agency warned about the existence of such pens falsely labelled as Ozempic.

Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the drug, flagged a surge in online offers of counterfeit Ozempic as well as its weight-loss drug Wegovy, both based on semaglutide. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Novo Nordisk has been scrambling to boost output to catch up with overwhelming demand.&nbsp;

"It appears that this shortage is being exploited by criminal organisations to bring counterfeits of Ozempic to market," BASG further said.&nbsp;

<h2>What does Ozempic do?</h2>

According to Novo Nordisk's website, Ozempic is used to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes. The drug also reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.

However, Ozempic is not for use in people with type 1 diabetes. It is also not yet known if the drug is safe and effective for use in children under 18 years of age. Some of the serious side effects of the drug include inflammation of the pancreas, changes in vision and low blood sugar.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that EMA authorities in Germany and Britain have been investigating a case where bogus injection pens with German labels in genuine Ozempic packaging were sold from a wholesaler in Austria to Germany, and from there, on to two British wholesalers.

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Several people in Austria were hospitalised after they used suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, the news agency reported on Tuesday (Oct 24) citing the country's health safety regulator BASG.

Several people in Austria were hospitalised after they used suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, the news agency reported on Tuesday (Oct 24) citing the country's health safety regulator BASG. On Monday, the BASG said that patients were reported to have suffered hypoglycaemia, seizures, and other serious side effects. This indicated the product contained insulin instead of Ozempic's active ingredient semaglutide, the BASG added. The regulator did not mention how many people were hospitalised. 'Fake injection pens might still be in circulation' An investigation has been launched with the criminal investigation service warning that fake injection pens might still be in circulation. Last week, the European Medicines Agency warned about the existence of such pens falsely labelled as Ozempic. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the drug, flagged a surge in online offers of counterfeit Ozempic as well as its weight-loss drug Wegovy, both based on semaglutide. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Novo Nordisk has been scrambling to boost output to catch up with overwhelming demand. "It appears that this shortage is being exploited by criminal organisations to bring counterfeits of Ozempic to market," BASG further said. What does Ozempic do? According to Novo Nordisk's website, Ozempic is used to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes. The drug also reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease. However, Ozempic is not for use in people with type 1 diabetes. It is also not yet known if the drug is safe and effective for use in children under 18 years of age. Some of the serious side effects of the drug include inflammation of the pancreas, changes in vision and low blood sugar. Reuters reported on Tuesday that EMA authorities in Germany and Britain have been investigating a case where bogus injection pens with German labels in genuine Ozempic packaging were sold from a wholesaler in Austria to Germany, and from there, on to two British wholesalers. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Austria: Several people hospitalised after using fake versions of diabetes drug

When Moustapha Dieng came down with stomach pains one-day last month he did the sensible thing and went to a doctor in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital.

The doctor prescribed a malaria treatment but the medicine cost too much for Dieng, a 30-year-old tailor, so he went to an unlicensed street vendor for pills on the cheap.

"It was too expensive at the pharmacy. I was forced to buy street drugs as they are less expensive," he said.

Within days he was hospitalized - sickened by the very drugs that were supposed to cure him.

Tens of thousands of people in Africa die each year because of fake and counterfeit medication, an EU-funded report released on Tuesday said. The drugs are mainly made in China but also in India, Paraguay, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

Almost half the fake and low-quality medicines reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2013 and 2017 were found to be in sub-Saharan Africa, said the report, also backed by Interpol and the Institute for Security Studies.

"Counterfeiters prey on poorer countries more than their richer counterparts, with up to 30 times greater penetration of fakes in the supply chain," said the report.

Substandard or fake anti-malarials cause the deaths of between 64,000 and 158,000 people per year in sub-Saharan Africa, the report said.

The counterfeit drug market is worth around $200 billion worldwide annually, WHO says, making it the most lucrative trade of illegally copied goods. Its impact has been devastating.

Nigeria said more than 80 children were killed in 2009 by a teething syrup tainted with a chemical normally used in engine coolant and blamed for causing kidney failure.

For Dieng, the cost can be measured in more than simple suffering. The night in hospital cost him more than double what he would have paid had he bought the drugs the doctor ordered.

"After taking those drugs, the provenance of which we don't know, he came back with new symptoms ... All this had aggravated his condition," said nurse Jules Raesse, who treated Dieng when he stayed at the clinic last month.

Fake drugs also threaten a thriving pharmaceutical sector in several African countries.

That has helped prompt Ivory Coast - where fake drugs were also sold openly - to crack down on the trade, estimated at $30 billion by Reuters last year.

Ivorian authorities said last month they had seized almost 400 tonnes of fake medicine over the past two years.

Able Ekissi, an inspector at the health ministry, told Reuters the seized goods, had they been sold to consumers, would have represented a loss to the legitimate pharmaceutical industry of more than $170 million.

"They are reputed to be cheaper, but at best they are ineffective and at worst toxic," Abderrahmane Chakibi, Managing Director of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi's sub-Saharan Africa branch.

But in Ivory Coast, many cannot afford to shop in pharmacies, which often only stock expensive drugs imported from France, rather than cheaper generics from places like India.

"When you have no means you are forced to go out onto the street," said Barakissa Cherik, a pharmacist in Ivory Coast's lagoon-side commercial capital Abidjan.

When Moustapha Dieng came down with stomach pains one-day last month he did the sensible thing and went to a doctor in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital.

When Moustapha Dieng came down with stomach pains one-day last month he did the sensible thing and went to a doctor in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The doctor prescribed a malaria treatment but the medicine cost too much for Dieng, a 30-year-old tailor, so he went to an unlicensed street vendor for pills on the cheap. "It was too expensive at the pharmacy. I was forced to buy street drugs as they are less expensive," he said. Within days he was hospitalized - sickened by the very drugs that were supposed to cure him. Tens of thousands of people in Africa die each year because of fake and counterfeit medication, an EU-funded report released on Tuesday said. The drugs are mainly made in China but also in India, Paraguay, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. Almost half the fake and low-quality medicines reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2013 and 2017 were found to be in sub-Saharan Africa, said the report, also backed by Interpol and the Institute for Security Studies. "Counterfeiters prey on poorer countries more than their richer counterparts, with up to 30 times greater penetration of fakes in the supply chain," said the report. Substandard or fake anti-malarials cause the deaths of between 64,000 and 158,000 people per year in sub-Saharan Africa, the report said. The counterfeit drug market is worth around $200 billion worldwide annually, WHO says, making it the most lucrative trade of illegally copied goods. Its impact has been devastating. Nigeria said more than 80 children were killed in 2009 by a teething syrup tainted with a chemical normally used in engine coolant and blamed for causing kidney failure. For Dieng, the cost can be measured in more than simple suffering. The night in hospital cost him more than double what he would have paid had he bought the drugs the doctor ordered. "After taking those drugs, the provenance of which we don't know, he came back with new symptoms ... All this had aggravated his condition," said nurse Jules Raesse, who treated Dieng when he stayed at the clinic last month. Fake drugs also threaten a thriving pharmaceutical sector in several African countries. That has helped prompt Ivory Coast - where fake drugs were also sold openly - to crack down on the trade, estimated at $30 billion by Reuters last year. Ivorian authorities said last month they had seized almost 400 tonnes of fake medicine over the past two years. Able Ekissi, an inspector at the health ministry, told Reuters the seized goods, had they been sold to consumers, would have represented a loss to the legitimate pharmaceutical industry of more than $170 million. "They are reputed to be cheaper, but at best they are ineffective and at worst toxic," Abderrahmane Chakibi, Managing Director of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi's sub-Saharan Africa branch. But in Ivory Coast, many cannot afford to shop in pharmacies, which often only stock expensive drugs imported from France, rather than cheaper generics from places like India. "When you have no means you are forced to go out onto the street," said Barakissa Cherik, a pharmacist in Ivory Coast's lagoon-side commercial capital Abidjan.

Tens of thousands die in Africa each year due to fake drugs

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