Dr Reddy's slips 2% on charges of packaging lapse

NEW DELHI: Shares of Dr Reddy’s dropped over 2 per cent in Thursday’s trade after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sought civil penalty against the Hyderabad-headquartered drugmaker, saying it has violated provisions related to child-resistant packaging in at least five prescription drugs.

As part of its review on June 6, the commission voted 4-1 against Dr Reddy's for not reporting the risks as per the provisions of Consumer Product Safety Act and the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), an expert on legal and compliance issues said.

Following the news, the stock fell 2.24 per cent to hit a high of Rs 3,062.30 on BSE. The BSE Healthcare index slipped 0.44 per cent to 14,924.53.

The probe had begun in 2012. CPSC said from 2008 to 2012, Dr Reddy's sold prescription drugs that failed to comply with the CPSC's special child resistant packaging regulations.

Dr Reddy's said it firmly disagrees with the (US) government's allegations, adding that its US subsidiary has reaffirmed its commitment to fully cooperate with the US government as it defends itself against allegations that the company failed to comply with applicable special packaging and reporting requirements, the ET reported.