Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation issue “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)” for 53 drugs
India’s drug regulator found over 50 drugs, such as calcium and vitamin D3 supplements, anti-diabetes pills, and high blood pressure medicines, to have not passed quality tests.
In a recent monthly drug alert list, the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) announced that 53 drugs have been identified as “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) Alert.”
NSQ alerts are created through indiscriminate monthly sampling carried out by state drug officials.
Pan-D, Paracetamol, Shelcal among drugs that fail quality tests
Among the 53 best-selling drugs that did not pass the quality inspection by the drug regulatory authority are tablets of Vitamin C and D3, Shelcal, Vitamin B complex and softgels of Vitamin C, Pan-D for antiacidity, Paracetamol tablets IP 500 mg, Glimepiride for diabetes, Telmisartan for hypertension, and others.
Hetero Drugs, Alkem Laboratories, HAL, Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Meg Lifesciences, Pure & Cure Healthcare, and others produce these medications.
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Metronidazole, a commonly used medication for stomach infections manufactured by PSU Hindustan Antibiotic Limited (HAL), is one of the drugs that did not pass quality assessments.
Likewise, Shelcal, produced by Pure & Cure Healthcare in Uttarakhand and distributed by Torrent Pharmaceuticals, also failed the test.
In addition, a drug-testing laboratory in Kolkata has labeled Alkem Health Science’s antibiotics Clavam 625 and Pan D as counterfeit.
The Cepodem XP 50 Dry Suspension, manufactured by Hetero in Hyderabad, was found to be of poor quality by the same laboratory. It is typically used to treat severe bacterial infections in children.
Quality concerns have also been raised for Paracetamol tablets produced by Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
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Drug regulatory agency release two lists of drugs that fail quality tests
The drug regulatory agency released two lists of drugs that did not pass quality tests. The first list includes 48 common drugs, whereas the second list includes 5 more drugs as well as responses from pharmaceutical companies that did not pass the tests.
Still, the responses suggest that the companies refused to accept blame for the drugs, claiming they are “fake”.
In August, the CDSCO banned over 156 fixed-dose drug combinations in the Indian market that are “likely to involve risk to humans”. These medicines included popular fever drugs, painkillers and allergy tablets.
