Drugs called sub-standard are fake, says Abbott

Drug maker Abbott on Sunday said the batches of thyroid medication Thyronorm listed by Telangana's Drugs Control Administration (DCA) as "not of standard quality" are counterfeits and were not manufactured or marketed by the company. The company said it had alerted the authorities about the circulation of counterfeits in the market. "The batches of Thyronorm mentioned in the drugs control administration (DCA), government of Telangana list have been confirmed to be counterfeit and were not manufactured or marketed by Abbott," a company spokesperson told ET. "There is no quality issue with genuine Abbott products. In this case, we proactively alerted authorities about these potential counterfeit medicines and they took necessary action."

Abbott said "genuine and high-quality Thyronorm from Abbott continues to be available in pharmacies across India. For the safety and benefit of our patients, we will continue our efforts to alert authorities against counterfeiters".

The drug maker said there are a number of ways to distinguish if the Thyronorm pack that a customer has is genuine or counterfeit. "There is a QR code on its label, which when scanned leads to an informative landing page with a video on the benefits of the flip-top pack. There is a genuine Abbott logo on the cap affirming the authenticity of the pack," the company said.