Pune: Sassoon Hospital in Pune has come under the spotlight following reports of fake medicines supplied by Kolhapur-based vendor "Vishal Enterprises."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized samples of five types of medicines supplied to the hospital and sent them to a laboratory in Mumbai for testing. The results are expected in approximately three months.
The medicines under investigation include Diclofenac (pain reliever), Midazolam (used for epilepsy), 120 bottles of calcium syrup, Dexamethasone, and Misoprostol. FDA officials visited Sassoon Hospital’s drug storage unit on Thursday after identifying Vishal Enterprises as the supplier and sealed the stock pending further investigation.
This incident is not isolated. Similar cases of fake medicine supplies by Vishal Enterprises were uncovered earlier in government hospitals in Kolhapur, Nagpur, Thane, Wardha, and Ambajogai. In Ambajogai, fake antibiotics such as Azithromycin-500 and Amoxicillin were supplied, raising concerns about the safety and efficacy of medicines provided to patients.
Sassoon Hospital’s dean, Dr. Eknath Pawar, confirmed that ₹80,000 worth of medicines supplied by Vishal Enterprises have been sealed, and the supplier’s payments have been withheld. Despite no evidence linking this stock to previously identified fake medicines, the hospital has taken precautionary measures by suspending distribution.
Assistant Commissioner of FDA Pune, Dinesh Khivansara, stated that samples have been sent for testing as a precautionary measure, even though no directly implicated medicines were found. The FDA assured that strict actions would be taken against any parties found responsible.
