New Delhi:- Stepping up its process to detect substandard medicines in the market, India's drug regulator has identified 135 medicines manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies as not of standard quality in the month of December. With this, the total number of medicines found not of standard quality in the last three months reached 336.
Interestingly, Cefpodoxime Tablet IP 200 mg, an antibiotic used to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, is available and distributed to Jan Aushadhi centres. This too was not found to be of standard quality in December. This specific medicine was manufactured by Gujarat-based Bharat Parenterals Limited.
Common NSQ Medicines
Other generic drugs, not recognized as standard quality, include Divalproex extended-release tablets IP, Metformin hydrochloride IDE tablets IP, Zinc sulphate dispersible tablets IP, Metformin tablets IP 500 mg, Amoximun CV-625, Paracetamol tabs IP 500 mg etc. are included.
Health Ministry's action
Terming the process of detection of such medicines as a routine regulatory surveillance activity, the Health Ministry said that the list of medicines which are not as per the standard quality and counterfeit medicines is being displayed on the CDSCO portal on a monthly basis.
The ministry said, “For the month of December 2024, the Central Drug Laboratories have identified 51 drug samples as not conforming to the standard quality. At the same time, the State Drugs Testing Regulatory has also identified 84 drug samples as not meeting the standard quality.
Let us tell you that this action of NSQ and identification of counterfeit medicines is done on a regular basis in collaboration with state regulators, to ensure that these medicines are identified and removed from the market.
Earlier, 111 medicines were not of standard quality. In November, 111 medicines were found not to be of standard quality and in October, 90 medicines were found to be of poor quality. In November, central drug laboratories had identified 41 drug samples and state drug testing laboratories had identified 70 drug samples as not of standard quality. A total of 111 medicines were found in the month of November.
What do experts say
Talking on this issue, famous health expert Dr. Tamorish Kole described the findings as serious. Kole, chair of the Clinical Practice Committee of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine, said, “Drugs like painkillers, antibiotics are common in India as over the counter medicines and this is a serious issue. The Health Ministry should deal with this matter very strictly.”
Dr Kole said that the general public also needs to be alert and avoid uncontrolled use of medicines. He suggested always consulting a doctor before taking any non-prescription medicine from the pharmacy. He said, “Proper medicine can save people from any unpleasant effects of poor quality medicines.
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