Kerala DCA Initiates 'Operation Double-Check' Against Drug Procurement Sources

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The Drug Control Administration (DCA) in Kerala plans to launch ‘Operation Double-Check’ involving all drug inspectors in the districts to ensure the quality of drugs imported from other states and to find out the sources of drug procurement by corporate and discount pharmacies.

The regulatory body has decided to go with the new mode of operation, mainly to ensure whether the drugs are procured from genuine manufacturers because of secret information it received from several sources that medicines from unauthorized sources are coming to Kerala. The quality of such products is questionable, according to a highly-placed source from the department.

In the beginning, Operation Double-Check will target the discount pharmacies whose procurements of drugs will be chased by the inspectors to ensure whether they are getting medicines from authorized dealers or genuine manufacturers. Simultaneously, the quality check of the products through samples collected from the medical shops will be carried out in the state laboratories. Chasing source of purchase and product quality testing will go in unison, said Sujith Kumar, drug controller, Kerala.

The DC said the department wants to establish a procurement mechanism for all drug dealers, which should be transparent and ethical. The department gets complaints from several sources that many drugs in circulation are not from genuine suppliers, and the inspectors checking the premises cannot detect the supply channel. All over India, there is a surge in substandard and spurious drug rackets, which are being busted by the regulators every day.