In a landmark case for Pakistan, the Rawalpindi Drug Court has sentenced the CEO and employees of an international medicine company to imprisonment and heavy fines for their involvement in distributing substandard medicine. The company denies any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the verdict.
According to court documents obtained by Dawn, the complaint was filed by Provincial Inspector of Drugs Tehsil Hasan Abdal, alleging that a sample of companies tablet was declared substandard by the Drug Testing Laboratory Rawalpindi in 2018.
In February 2023, the court charged the company’s representatives, who then pleaded not guilty and underwent trial proceedings.
According to the verdict, despite the company having a substantial net worth of $82.38 billion and possessing production and quality control units, it did not take steps to recall or halt the marketing of the substandard drug, nor did it initiate an inquiry into its manufacturing process.
The court found the CEO, production manager, quality control manager, and warrantor of the company guilty.
The CEO was sentenced to imprisonment until the conclusion of the court session and fined a total of Rs4.7 million. Failure to pay the fine could result in a three-month prison term.
The other three individuals were each given two-year prison sentences and fined Rs600,000. They face an additional six months’ imprisonment if unable to pay the fines.
However, the company’s secretary Salman Taimur has announced the company’s intention to appeal the verdict before the appellate forum.
