DEA cough/cold ingredient seizure upheld

Executive Summary

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirms the dismissal of a complaint filed by Malladi Drugs & Pharmaceuticals against the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking the return of $1.42 million worth of seized ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The court's Jan. 23 ruling says India-based Malladi, which manufactures OTC and Rx pharmaceutical ingredients in the U.S. through subsidiary Novus Fine Chemicals, "failed to exhaust its administrative remedies" with DEA immediately following the seizure, such as filing a claim for the property. DEA agents seized the chemicals from Malladi's New Jersey facility in 2005 after discovering the company's file room was not sufficiently organized to reconcile documentation and inventory