Islamabad: In a decisive move to enforce drug safety and regulatory compliance, the Quality Control Board (QCB), Islamabad, has suspended the drug sale license of a violator and approved prosecution in seven separate cases involving the recovery of unregistered medicines.
The actions were taken during the Board’s 59th meeting held under the chairmanship of Mr. Laeeq Ahmad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination.
The meeting was attended by key regulatory and enforcement officials, including Deputy Secretary Health Mr. Saleem Cheema, District Health Officer Islamabad Syeda Rashida Batool, Additional Director DRAP Mst. Tehreem Sara, Assistant Commissioner ICT Mr. Uzair Khan, and concerned drug inspectors.
Secretary of the Quality Control Board, Sardar Shabbir Ahmed, presented 15 cases of violations under the Drugs Act, 1976 and DRAP Act, 2012 for deliberation and action.
After hearing the concerned parties in each case, the Board ordered the immediate suspension of the drug sale license in one case and instructed drug inspectors to seal the premises for the duration of the suspension.
In seven cases involving minor regulatory violations, the Board issued formal warnings, cautioning the licensees to ensure strict compliance moving forward.
However, more serious violations prompted stern action, with the Board approving prosecutions in seven cases where unregistered drugs were found during field operations. The Drug Control Section was directed to expedite the legal process by submitting the cases to the Drug Court without delay.
In matters related to pharmaceutical testing, the Board considered two appeals from manufacturers requesting retesting of their drug samples. One request was accepted based on scientific grounds, while the other was denied due to insufficient justification.
The Board concluded the session by commending the efforts of the Pharmacy Services & Drug Control (PS & DC) Section of the Islamabad Health Department for its active enforcement.
It further directed the section to identify regulatory hotspots and intensify surveillance across the federal capital to curb the circulation of substandard and unregistered drugs. Ends
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