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Ranbaxy Drugs, Fined in U.S., ‘Safe’ In South Africa

Ranbaxy Drugs, Fined in U.S., ‘Safe’ In South Africa

From Business Line.

South Africa’s regulatory agency vouched for the safety and quality of  generic drugs distributed there by Ranbaxy just days after the Indian pharmaceutical giant paid a $500 million fine in the U.S. for selling adulterated drugs.

Representatives from World Health Organisation, the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Authority inspected Ranbaxy’s manufacturing sites and were satisfied standards had improved, said Mandisa Hela, registrar of the South African Medicines Control Council, in a Business Line report.

The South African subsidiary of India’s largest pharmaceutical company also issued a statement saying that drugs manufactured locally are safe.

This assurance came after the drug maker paid a fine of $500 million in the U.S. for falsifying data and selling sub-standard drugs manufactured at two of its Indian plants.

Ranbaxy U.S.A. pleaded guilty to three felony counts under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act and four felony counts of knowingly making materially false statements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the report says.

In 2004, Ranbaxy voluntarily withdrew several AIDS drugs from the South African market over concerns about potential risks to the public.

Read more at Business Line.