Karnataka SIT uncovers 15,000-vial fake antibiotic racket, suspects Rs 10 crore profit

Bengaluru, Oct 7: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the fake medicine racket in Karnataka has found that nearly 15,000 vials of two spurious antibiotics — Zavicefta and Emblaveo, for which Pfizer holds the rights — were distributed over the past one-and-a-half years.

SIT officials said the preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had been operating the network since April 2025.

The accused allegedly filled the vials with a generic medicine instead of the genuine drugs and used labels bearing the Pfizer name to make them appear authentic. Investigators suspect that the original company labels were procured from Turkey, where Pfizer has a manufacturing unit.

A senior officer said the team was awaiting the laboratory report to determine the chemical composition of the spurious drugs.

The SIT has also traced the distribution network through which the vials were circulated, the officer said.

SIT to track every layer of distribution network

Police and health department officials are now verifying the entire drug distribution chain, including purchases, sales and stocks handled by those involved.

“We will correlate the sales, purchases and the stock they received and dispatched. Everything will be cross-checked. The accused sold the drugs to certain entities, and the team is probing where those entities subsequently sent them. We will examine each layer of the network,” the officer said.

So far, investigators have found no evidence that cancer medicines were being counterfeited. However, the teams will continue to investigate the possibility, the officer added.

Antibiotics priced at up to Rs 6,500 a vial

Zavicefta is a prescription antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial infections, including complicated urinary tract infections, complicated abdominal infections, hospital-acquired pneumonia and certain infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.

Emblaveo is also a prescription intravenous antibiotic used to treat serious infections, particularly those caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.

Zavicefta contains ceftazidime 2g and avibactam 0.5g per vial and is priced at around Rs 5,500–Rs 6,000 per vial. Emblaveo contains aztreonam 1.5g and avibactam 0.5g per vial and costs around Rs 6,000–Rs 6,500 per vial.

Investigators suspect the accused procured materials required to manufacture the spurious drugs at low cost and sold them as branded medicines at significantly higher prices. The racket is suspected to have generated profits of more than Rs 10 crore in the past few months.

According to the investigation, spurious drugs were procured from Hyderabad, Chennai, Uttarakhand and other states.

The material was allegedly filled into vials, labelled as Pfizer products and distributed through DM Pharma. The firm is registered in the names of Balasubramani from Chennai and Priyanka, the wife of alleged kingpin R Prashanth Babu, who is from Shivamogga and had worked as a medical representative, the officer said.

The medicines were then allegedly supplied to Krupa Pharma, owned by Veeresh Kumar Jain. The firm allegedly distributed them further to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals along with genuine medicines, apparently to avoid detection.

Police said Prashanth allegedly rented a farmhouse near Bidadi to manufacture the spurious drugs.

The SIT has arrested seven people in connection with the case so far.

Spurious and adulterated drugs: What is the difference?

Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, a spurious drug is one presented in a manner intended to deceive people into believing that it is a genuine medicine. For example, a different substance may be filled into a vial and sold using a fake label belonging to a genuine drug.

An adulterated drug, meanwhile, is one whose contents, quality, purity or manufacturing or storage conditions have been compromised, potentially making it unsafe.

Officials said a drug could be classified as both spurious and adulterated, depending on the circumstances and the findings of laboratory tests.