Karnataka seeks Pfizer reference standards to fight fake drugs
Karnataka has asked Pfizer's headquarters to share reference standards so labs, doctors and firms can tell fake drugs from genuine ones.
Karnataka's health department has approached the headquarters of pharmaceutical major Pfizer with a request to release its reference standards, a move aimed at helping laboratories, doctors and drug companies distinguish counterfeit medicines from genuine ones.
Health Minister U.T. Khader said the department had written to the company's headquarters seeking the standards, which serve as benchmarks against which drug samples can be tested and verified.
The request follows a bust involving fake drugs in the state, and the government is also preparing to track cancer patients in connection with the case.
Reference standards are used by testing laboratories to compare samples and confirm whether a medicine is authentic. Access to such benchmarks is expected to make it easier for laboratories, medical professionals and pharmaceutical firms to identify spurious products.
The minister's remarks indicate that the state is pursuing both regulatory and patient-monitoring measures in the wake of the counterfeit drug seizure.