Pakistan: Rawalpindi drug court sentences pharmaceutical company for substandard medicine

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 26 : Rawalpindi Drug Court has awarded imprisonment and heavy fines to the CEO and other employees of a pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), over a case involving the distribution of substandard medicine, Dawn reported.
The judgement, delivered after a trial in the Rawalpindi Drug Court found the accused guilty of negligence. Despite GSK's reputation as a reputable company, the court ruled that it failed to address concerns regarding the substandard drug.
The CEO faces imprisonment until the rising of the court and a substantial fine, with potential additional prison time for non-payment.
The court found the company's CEO, production manager, quality control manager and warrantor guilty. The CEO was awarded imprisonment until the rising of the court and an overall fine of PKR 4.7 million. She may face three months in prison if she fails to pay the fine, reported Dawn.
The three others have each been awarded two years in prison and a fine of PKR 600,000. They will face an additional six months imprisonment each in case of failure to pay the fines.
The judgement was announced by a three-member bench headed by the Chairman of Drug Court Rawalpindi, Nadeem Babar Khan, and has triggered a debate in the pharmaceutical sector and health fraternity, as per Dawn.
While explaining the case, Pakistan Drug Lawyers Forum President Noor Muhammad Mahar said that there was nothing wrong with the quality of the medicine.
According to Dawn, the genesis of the case traces back to a complaint lodged by the Provincial Inspector of Drugs, Tehsil Hasan Abdal, citing an inspection conducted in 2018 by drug inspector Uzma Khalid.
The inspection centred on a sample of GSK's tablet Septran, batch number HSBDS, which subsequent testing at the Drug Testing Laboratory Rawalpindi revealed to be substandard, according to the judgement seen by Dawn
The representatives of the company were charged by the court in February 2023. However, all the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and faced a trial.
The judgement said that GSK, with an estimated net worth of USD 82.38 billion, has production and quality control units. However, it did not bother to recall or stop marketing the drug, nor did it conduct any inquiry regarding the manufacturing of the substandard drug.
However, GSK Secretary Agha Salman Taimur has announced the company's intention to challenge the judgement before the appellate forum.
In a letter to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, seen by Dawn, he wrote, "GSK, as well as the officers, impleaded in the proceedings, hereby deny any sort of wrongdoing in the matter and are taking immediate steps to challenge the aforementioned judgment before the appellate forum."