Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) has cancelled the licences of 16 retail and wholesale pharmaceutical firms across Bengaluru and suspended those of eight others, including global pharma major Pfizer’s depot, for their alleged role in selling or supplying spurious products, Health Minister U T Khader said Sunday.The action follows the FSDA’s raids at farmhouses in the Bidadi and Dodderi areas of Bengaluru South district on August 18. It seized suspected counterfeit medicines worth around Rs 5 crore, along with fake bills, injection-filling equipment and counterfeit labels. Later, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the wider racket.Health Minister Khader told the media that the licences of suspicious firms and pharmacies had been cancelled, while those of a few others were suspended for not cooperating with the SIT’s investigation. “We have stopped Pfizer’s sale in the state because they did not cooperate with the investigation,” Khader said.The Indian Express has emailed Pfizer for a response regarding the suspension of its licence and the FSDA’s allegations. The American multinational has yet to reply to the email.According to the FSDA, preliminary investigations revealed that the farmhouse premises were being used to procure low-cost medications from neighbouring states. These cheaper drugs were allegedly refilled into new vials and relabelled to counterfeit expensive life-saving brands of multinational corporations, specifically imitating imported products under the brand name ‘Pfizer’.Also Read | Fake-drug racket suspect holed up in Azerbaijan, Karnataka mulls CBI probeTo deceive buyers and maximise illicit profits, the counterfeit labels featured QR/scanning codes, which the FSDA found to be completely non-functional upon verification. These counterfeit drugs lack active medicinal ingredients and may contain harmful substances, posing a serious threat to public health, the agency noted.The FSDA said it has blocked batch numbers linked to the seized drugs on its portal to prevent further sale or distribution, and has sent samples from the seizure to government laboratories for chemical testing to verify composition, sterility, and potency.Story continues below this adThe FSDA has urged citizens and patients to purchase life-saving medications only from licensed pharmacies and to insist on valid tax invoices for every purchase. The department has also asked the public to immediately report any suspicious packaging variations or non-functional QR codes on drug labels to drug enforcement authorities.Firms whose licences cancelledAvesco HealthcareBangalore Speciality PharmaPatel Medi TradeRajarajeshwari PharmaSurya Speciality PharmaSWS PharmaKrupa HealthcareSt Philomena Hospital Drug CentreSagar PharmaZymus PharmaFortune Medical SolutionsExcelcare PharmaPatel MedicalsBangalore Speciality Pharma outlet at Chamarajpet in BengaluruFirms whose licences suspended pending further inquiryMed PharmaSurya Speciality HospitalSagar Pharma (Unit-II)Vivantha PharmaceuticalsMaruthi MedicalsViva Pharma (Belagavi)Hi-5 PharmaPfizerSeized materials– 5,640 vials of counterfeit Cefiavigent 2.5 injection, falsely branded under Eucratia Healthcare Pvt Ltd, valued at over Rs 3.38 crore, the single largest component of the haul.Story continues below this ad– 1,531 vials of Hizlam injectables, falsely attributed to Welcure Remedies (Rs 52.24 lakh).– 264 vials of Emblaveo, counterfeiting Pfizer (Rs 20.59 lakh).– 30 boxes of expired medications, valued at Rs 35 lakh, which officials say were apparently being prepared for reintroduction into the market.– Several other counterfeit injectable batches, including Xavitaz, Zavicefta, Tigynt, Tigvnet, Aztreo, and Trezam, along with packaging components, an injection-filling machine, and bulk quantities of forged labels and stamps.