J-K drug controller suspends operations of 4 chemist firms for violating norms

Taking cognisance of the matter, operations of four such firms in Bakshi Nagar area were stopped, they added. Thereafter, a meeting of the Jammu Chemists Association was convened wherein the members were impressed upon to sell drugs and other surgical items, particularly those being used in the management of COVID-19, at genuine prices to the patients, the officials said.

The drug controller of Jammu and Kashmir suspended the operations of four chemist firms in Jammu city on Friday for breaching provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, officials said here. Acting on reports that some chemist shops near the government medical college hospital at Bakshi Nagar were indulging in unethical trade practices, teams of the Drugs and Food Control Organisation, J&K, carried out surprise checks of retail sale outlets in the area, they said.

The inspecting teams scrutinised the sales and purchase records of the firms randomly and it was found that sales records of some firms were not being maintained properly in consonance with the conditions of the licences and the mandate of the law, the officials said. Taking cognisance of the matter, operations of four such firms in Bakshi Nagar area were stopped, they added.

Thereafter, a meeting of the Jammu Chemists Association was convened wherein the members were impressed upon to sell drugs and other surgical items, particularly those being used in the management of COVID-19, at genuine prices to the patients, the officials said. A warning was issued that licences of firms found violating norms will be cancelled, they said.

Statutory samples of more than 50 drugs formulations and sanitizers were also lifted for determination of strength and purity, the officials said.