Bengaluru: Two days after the Haryana Food and Drug Administration (FDA Haryana) identified certain spurious batches of drug Mounjaro Kwik Pen, a city-based druggist body has flagged concerns on certain suspected batches of the drug out in the market.A Mounjaro KwikPen is a multi-dose, pre-filled injection device used as a medication prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management. A 2.5mg batch of the drug has a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 13,125, with the 15mg version costing Rs 27,500.The Bangalore District Chemists and Druggists Association (BDCDA) has instructed all pharmacists in the city to stop selling six batches of the drug suspected to be spurious. “Counterfeit, spurious and substandard medicines are not merely regulatory violations, they pose a serious threat to public health, patient safety and the national economy,” BDCDA president, B Thirunavukkarasu said.The association suspects batches of 2.5mg, 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg and 15mg manufactured in 2025 with an expiry date of July-Sept 2027 to be spurious. Retail and wholesale traders in the city have been instructed to suspend the sale and distribution of the mentioned batches, quarantine any available stock, report any issues to the concerned Drug Control Authorities and to purchase medicines strictly from jurisdiction-based authorised stockists/licensed distributors only.“Once a patient begins to doubt the quality of a medicine, every subsequent dose is taken with fear, uncertainty and distress… Commercial gain must never be allowed to override professional ethics and human responsibility. Any suspicion of counterfeit medicines must be acted upon immediately,” the association said in a letter addressed to dealers.
