The seized drugs at Pirbahore police station on Saturday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Not just banned drugs, even expired ones have forayed into the city’s markets.

State Drug Controller administration officials discovered this on Saturday when they raided four shops at Govind Mitra Road and seized banned as well as expired drugs worth over Rs 10 lakh.

Among the banned drugs found during this raid were Nicit Kid andNimokid (generic name-nimesulide, prescribed for fevers). Nimesulide had been banned since 2011 for it was found damaging to children’s liver and kidney.

Among the expired drugs found in the raid were Ranidome O (prescribed for nausea, vomiting), Atorex M (for cardiac ailments), Macrofloc (antibiotic), Bestozyme (for digestive purposes). Drug controller staff said most of the seized drugs had a use-by date somewhere in the middle of 2012.

An FIR was lodged at Pirbahore police station against the shokeepers. “At present, we cannot specify the quantity of drugs seized on Saturday but I can confirm that we seized drugs worth over Rs 10 lakh,” said state drug controller Hemant Kumar Sinha.

Noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr Amulya Kumar Singh said that expired drugs usually do not harm patients. “All drugs have a limited shelf life, which means the drug can be useful if taken for that particular period, beyond which it would not be effective. In other words, expired drugs lose their potency. But in some cases, if not stored at optimum temperature and light, or exposed to air for a long time, expired drugs undergo chemical changes and turn harmful for patients. In contrast, banned drugs are lethal, they can kill.

Drugs are banned only after research confirms their intake can have serious implications on patients’ health.

Some drugs have even been banned as they are cancer-causing, trigger heart attacks, make kidneys dysfunctional among others.

State drug controller Hemant Kumar Sinha said as much. That banned drugs are banned because they can be very dangerous for patients. He said that banned drugs might be able to tackle the problem for which they are prescribed but at the same time they can give rise to side-effects and sometimes these side effects can cause death.

The recovery of sub-standard and fake drugs in Patna market is causing concern to the medical fraternity. Just last week, Gandhi Maidan Police Station had seized 30 cartons of spurious drugs.

That such drugs are in circulation was apparent after 12 out of 954 samples of drugs tested by the drug controller last year were found sub-standard. In 2011, 8 out of 879 samples were found sub-standard.

A month ago, the drug controller had seized 200 boxes of fake N-Flox TZ drug, used to treat diarrhoea, from a shop on Govind Mitra Road in Patna.

Though the cases of sub-standard and fake drugs reported in the state are still not particularly alarming, experts believe residents should not take the numbers lightly.