Mumbai-based drugmaker Elder has alerted India’s drug regulator over the proliferation of counterfeit products of its brands.

The company claimed that these generic drugs were of substandard quality and could be life-threatening, posing a serious threat to public health.

The attached letter lists 27 counterfeit brand names that are very similar to Elder’s, such as Elder Bio Drugs, Elder Pharmaceuticals, Elder A to Z, Elder Bio Care and Elder Formulations.

The founders of the best-selling calcium supplement brand Shelcal, which was acquired by pharmaceutical giant Torrent in 2014, Elder Pharmaceuticals is now Elder Project Limited.

Based on a complaint filed by the company, the drug regulator raided several companies in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana for selling products that copied the company’s brand name. More than eight companies have pledged to DCGI not to copy the brand in future.

SVP Lifesciences, Quixotic Pharma, T&G Medicare, Antex Pharma, Russian Remedies, Progressive Lifesciences, Elder Wellness, Elder Products and Tirupathi Lifesciences have been asked by regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) to stop copying Elder’s brand name and exhaust existing Brand names available in 6-8 weeks.

News18 has sent emails to SVP Lifesciences, Quixotic Pharma, T&G Medicare, Antex Pharma and Progressive Lifesciences. Russian Remedies, Elder Wellness and Elder Products do not have official websites, and the latter two do not have addresses and act only as marketing companies.

In a December letter to CDSCO chief, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), Elder managing director Anuj Saxena sought help “to stop illegal use of company names and logos and products by small traders”.

News18 saw the letter and contacted DCGI. This article will be updated when regulators respond.

Drugmakers have been under CDSCO’s radar for the past year. In this initiative, launched under the leadership of Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, CDSCO has been conducting risk-based inspections across the country to filter out manufacturers of fake or substandard quality medicines.

Copying our logo, deceiving doctors and patients: Elders

The letter, titled “Unauthorized use of our company name and brand by some companies in manufacturing and marketing for the pan-India market” said, “In the last three to four years, small traders in Delhi and other parts of India have set up similar The company, prefixed by Elder, even copied the logo and brand name of our brand and sold it in rural areas and small cities, misleading the medical community.”

The letter also lists at least 27 counterfeit brand names similar to Elder’s, such as Elder Bio Drugs, Elder Pharmaceuticals, Elder A to Z, Elder Bio Care and Elder Formulations.

The company also attached laboratory test reports of the drugs produced by these companies. Saxena used the reports to claim that the drugs were “found to be of substandard quality” and were “life-threatening due to poor quality”.

The company asked DCGI to “take strict action against criminals who endanger the lives of patients by using such substandard medicines”.

The company submitted a list of company/company names and their addresses requesting action.

The company pledged that the behavior was “unintentional”

The commitment letter submitted to DCGI and reviewed by News 18 was signed by the owners of the pharmaceutical companies named by Elder.

The companies said they “sincerely apologize” to DCGI for their “complete disregard for the law” but that the conduct was “unintentional”.

For example, several companies were found to be producing Eldvi injection, which is used to treat nutritional deficiencies.

The two companies signed a document on February 12 stating, “Due to negligence, our company has plagiarized the product trademark of ‘Aide’ Advil Injection in the same service, and has been producing and selling this product to customers…”

The companies pledged not to manufacture and sell any products using Elder’s brand name and to remove all counterfeit products from the market within six weeks of signing the pledge.