Drug manufacturers, who have been illegally supplying Oxytocin injections to dairy owners for extracting milk from cattles, will now be under the scanner of the Government.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked the drug controller authorities across the States to keep a vigil on the illegal movement of the drug and take appropriate action against them as per law.
Presently, Oxytocin can be sold only by the manufacturers of bulk drug shall supply to the manufacturers licensed under the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules and that the formulations meant for veterinary use has to be sold to the veterinary hospitals only.
However, as the directives issued by the DCGI early this year is being violated rampantly, the State Drug Authorities have been asked “to provide the details of the manufacturers of bulk and formulations of Oxytocin in their state along with the statistical information on the seizures conducted, quantity seized along with its value, persons arrested, prosecutors filed, samples taken, reports of sub-standard quality, received during the last three years.”
The move to keep a vigil on sale of Oxytocin follows recommendations of an inter-ministerial panel set up by the Health Ministry few months back to examine the issue of Oxytocin injection and effectively check its illegal diversion.
The panel had found that there was a “need to take stringent measures on all cases of misuse and illegal movement of the drug.”
The state drug inspectors have been directed to pick the samples from different places and investigate the source of the illegal supply of the Oxytocin concoction sold to diary owners.
The matter regarding illegal sale of the drug was raised by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development who had met the Union Health Secretary complaining that the misuse of the drug was leading to a substantial loss of livestock in the country.
“Not only does this drug made cows barren sooner but also lowers the life span of the animal, thus causing economic loss to the owners in the long run. It is being widely used in the diary despite there being a restricted ban on its sale,” said Gandhi.