Pharma companies who bought electoral bonds worth crores failed in drug test
In this situation, if it is known that drug tests of many popular medicines treating high blood pressure, diabetes, malaria, Covid or heart diseases have been failing, then it is a matter of concern for the common people.
But if at the same time it is also seen that the companies whose medicines failed the drug tests, bought electoral bonds worth hundreds of crores of rupees and donated them to political parties, then the matter becomes even more serious.
Something similar can be seen from the analysis of the data related to electoral bonds which State Bank of India made available to the Election Commission after the order of the Supreme Court and which was made public by the Election Commission.
After scrutinizing the data, it has come to light that 23 pharma companies and one super specialty hospital donated about Rs 762 crore to political parties through electoral bonds. Let us first look at those pharma companies whose drug tests failed and who bought electoral bonds and gave them to political parties.
1. Torrent Pharmaceutical Limited
- The registered office of this company is in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- Between 2018 and 2023, drug tests of three medicines manufactured by this company failed.
- These medicines were Deplatt A 150, Nikoran IV 2 and Lopamide.
- Deplet A 150 prevents heart attack and Nikoran IV 2 reduces the workload of the heart. Lopamide is used to treat short-term or long-term diarrhea
- This company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 77.5 crore between May 7, 2019 and January 10, 2024.
- Out of these Rs 77.5 crore, Rs 61 crore was given to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
- This company gave Rs 7 crore to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha and Rs 5 crore to Congress.
2. Cipla Limited
- The registered office of Cipla Limited is in Mumbai.
- Between 2018 and 2023, the medicines manufactured by this company failed drug tests seven times.
- The medicines that failed the drug test included RC cough syrup, Lipvas tablets, ondansetron and Cipremi injection.
- Cipremi injection contains Remdesivir drug which is used in the treatment of Covid.
- Lipvas is used to reduce cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart diseases.
- Ondansetron is used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.
- This company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 39.2 crore between July 10, 2019 and November 10, 2022.
- Of these, bonds worth Rs 37 crore were given to BJP and bonds worth Rs 2.2 crore were given to Congress.
3. Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd
- Sun Pharma Laboratories is headquartered in Mumbai.
- Drug tests of medicines manufactured by this company failed six times between 2020 and 2023.
- The drugs that failed the test included Cardivas, Latoprost eye drops, and Flexura D.
- Cardivas is used to treat high blood pressure, heart-related chest pain (angina), and heart failure.
- On 15 April 2019 and 8 May 2019, this company purchased bonds worth a total of Rs 31.5 crore.
- The company gave all these bonds to BJP.
4. Zydus Healthcare Limited
- Zydus Healthcare Limited is headquartered in Mumbai.
- In the year 2021, the drug regulator of Bihar had said about the lack of quality in a batch of Remdesivir medicines manufactured by this company.
- Remdesivir is used in the treatment of Covid
- Between October 10, 2022 and July 10, 2023, this company purchased bonds worth Rs 29 crore.
- Out of this, Rs 18 crore was given to BJP, Rs 8 crore was given to Sikkim Krantikari Morcha and Rs 3 crore was given to Congress.
5. Hetero Drugs Ltd and Hetero Labs Ltd
- The headquarters of these companies is in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- Between 2018 and 2021, seven drug tests of medicines manufactured by this company failed.
- The medicines that failed the drug test included Remdesivir injection, Metformin and Covifor.
- Remdesivir and Covifor are used in the treatment of Covid while metformin is used for diabetes.
- Hetero Drugs Limited purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 30 crore on 7 April 2022 and 11 July 2023.
- All these bonds were given to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party of Telangana.
- Hetero Labs Limited purchased bonds worth Rs 25 crore on 7 April 2022 and 12 October 2023.
- Out of this, bonds worth Rs 20 crore were given to BRS and bonds worth Rs 5 crore were given to BJP.
election donation
6. Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited
- The headquarters of Intas Pharmaceuticals is in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- In July 2020, the drug test of Anapril manufactured by this company failed.
- Anapril is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. This medicine is also given after heart attack.
- This company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 20 crore on 10 October 2022.
- All these bonds were given to Bharatiya Janata Party.
7. IPCA Laboratories Ltd
- IPCA Laboratories Limited is headquartered in Mumbai.
- In October 2018, the drug test of Lariago tablet manufactured by this company failed.
- Lariago is used to prevent and treat malaria.
- Between November 10, 2022 and October 5, 2023, this company purchased bonds worth Rs 13.5 crore.
- Out of this, bonds worth Rs 10 crore were given to BJP and bonds worth Rs 3.5 crore were given to Sikkim
- Krantikari Morcha Party.
8. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited is headquartered in Mumbai.
- Between 2022 and 2023, six drug tests of medicines manufactured by this company failed.
- The medicines which failed the drug test included Telma AM, Telma H and Ziten tablets.
- Telma AM and Telma H are used to treat high blood pressure. Ziten Tablet is used in the treatment of diabetes.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 9.75 crore on November 11, 2022.
‘Quality related issues of pharma companies’
Of. Sujata Rao has worked as the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. She says, “Why would anyone give money to a political party without any expectation of getting anything in return (quid pro quo)? Who controls the pharma companies? The government has control. If a company has given money to any party in power, “If money has been given to a company, it means that it has been done clearly to take advantage of them. It is a different issue whether the government has given any benefit to the company making the donation or not.”
Sujata Rao says that there is always some problem with the pharma companies in India. According to him, there are quality issues and problems in these companies.
She says, “It needs to be seen whether the government stopped taking action against any of these companies after they made donations through electoral bonds. If there is no such connection then it is difficult to say whether any of this “How much of it is private sector investment to build good relations with the government? Pharma companies are certainly vulnerable.”
Experts say that there should be an investigation as to what happened after the medicines of these pharmaceutical companies failed in testing. Was any action initiated against him?
Was a chargesheet filed against him? If yes, were those works stopped after the money was paid through bonds?
Experts also say that since the government is the regulator of pharma companies, it exerts a lot of influence on their businesses in terms of quality checks and approvals.
Even a slight delay in giving permission for something can prove costly for these companies. And it is believed that perhaps to avoid this, these companies give money to political parties.
To which party did the pharma companies give money after the raid?
A few days ago, in another report, we had told you that after analyzing the data given by SBI to the Election Commission in the first batch, some such examples were found where in any year a private company was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Income Tax Department. It happened and a few days later that company bought electoral bonds.
There are also instances in which a company purchased electoral bonds and a few days later it was raided and after that the company again purchased electoral bonds.
These companies also include some pharma companies and a hospital. Let us take a look at those companies which were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Income Tax Department and to which political parties they purchased electoral bonds.
Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital
- Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital is headquartered in Telangana.
- This company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 162 crore between October 4, 2021 and October 11, 2023.
- The Income Tax Department raided the company on 22 December 2020.
- This company started buying electoral bonds from 4 October 2021.
- This company gave bonds worth Rs 94 crore to Bharat Rashtra Samiti Party. Also, the company gave bonds worth Rs 64 crore to Congress and bonds worth Rs 2 crore to BJP.
Dr Reddy’s Lab
- Dr. Reddy’s Lab is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- Bought electoral bonds worth Rs 84 crore between 8 May 2019 and 4 January 2024.
- On November 12, 2023, the Income Tax Department raided people associated with this company and their associates in connection with illegal cash transactions.
- On November 17, 2023, this company purchased bonds worth Rs 21 crore.
- On January 4, 2024, the company purchased bonds worth Rs 10 crore.
- This company gave bonds worth Rs 32 crore to Bharat Rashtra Samiti Party. Also, bonds worth Rs 25 crore were given to BJP, bonds worth Rs 14 crore were given to Congress and bonds worth Rs 13 crore were given to
- Telugu Desam Party.
Aurobindo Pharma
- The headquarters of Aurobindo Pharma is in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 52 crore between April 3, 2021 and November 8, 2023.
- On November 10, 2022, the company’s director P Sarath Chandra Reddy was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case.
- On November 15, 2022, the company purchased bonds worth Rs 5 crore. All these bonds were given to
- Bharatiya Janata Party.
Which pharma companies gave election donations?
Till now, the companies that we talked about giving crores of rupees to political parties by purchasing electoral bonds were either those whose medicines failed the drug tests or those which were raided by ED or Income Tax Department.
But apart from these companies, there are some other companies which have donated crores of rupees to many political parties through electoral bonds.
Natco Pharma
- Natco Pharma is headquartered in Hyderabad.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 69.25 crore between October 5, 2019 and January 10, 2024.
- Out of this, Rs 20 crore was given to BRS party, Rs 15 crore was given to BJP and Rs 12.25 crore was given to Congress party.
MSN Pharmachem Limited
- MSN Pharmachem Limited is headquartered in Hyderabad.
- This company purchased electoral bonds worth a total of Rs 26 crore on 8 April 2022 and 16 November 2023.
- Out of this, Rs 20 crore was given to BRS party and Rs 6 crore was given to BJP.
Eujia Pharma Specialties
- Eujia Pharma Specialties is headquartered in Hyderabad.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 15 crore on 8 November 2023.
- All these bonds were given to BJP.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals
- Alembic Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 10.2 crore between 14 November 2022 and 5 July 2023.
- All these bonds were given to BJP.
APL Healthcare Limited
- APL Healthcare Limited is headquartered in Hyderabad.
- This company purchased bonds worth Rs 10 crore on 8 November 2023.
- All these bonds were given to BJP.
