LAHORE, Jan 17: The Punjab Quality Control Board (PQCB) has recommended legal action against the people and firms manufacturing and selling spurious drugs and violating the drug act.

In its 47th meeting presided over by Punjab Health Secretary Anwaar Ahmad here on Thursday, the PQCB also reviewed the overall quality control situation in the province and the working of drug inspectors and drug testing laboratories.

The board approved registration of criminal cases under the Drug Act of 1976 against Karamat Ali and Muhammad Saeed, of Faisalabad, involved in illegal business of manufacturing of drugs; Shakeel Ahmad and Haji Hussain, of Kasur, for manufacturing of spurious antibiotics; Afzal Ali, of Kasur, for sale and manufacturing of spurious Amoxicillin capsules; Muhammad Anwar Al-Saudia Tibbi Foundation and Nasrullah, of Bahawalpur, for manufacturing and selling herbal Majoon Jinsing and Majoon Machhli containing Sildenafil Citrate; Muhammad Asif Zikrya, of Sargodha, for selling spurious Clomid tablets, a counterfeit of a multinational firm; Asmat Farooq, of Gujranwala, for keeping herbal drug Nan-Bao tablets containing Sildenafil Citrate; and Tassaduq Hussain, of Lahore, for selling unregistered drugs.

The board also rejected the review petitions of Ziauddin, Muhammad Iqbal and Khurram Shahzad, Muhammad Sajjad, Sajad Ahmad and Hafiz Muhammad Faisal of Bahawalpur.

Similarly, the board also upheld its decision of prosecution in another case of selling active pharmaceuticals stored illegally. It allowed prosecution of a leading pharmaceutical company involved in the manufacturing of misbranded antibiotic injection, M/s Z-Jans Pharmaceutical Industries, Peshawar, for selling/production of substandard Cesef suspension, which was found substandard by a drug testing laboratory as well as the National Institute of Health.

The board also recommended prosecution of M/s Friends Pharma Lahore for producing substandard Vioxime antibiotic suspension, M/s Nizam Cotton Industries Wazirabad for producing substandard Absorbent Cotton Wool used in surgery. It allowed prosecution of a multinational firm from Holland involved in the import of injections of anaesthesia for children, which were misbranded. It was decided to approach the Health Ministry for cancellation of their registration. In another case M/s Chishti Pharmaceutical Laboratories was also prosecuted.