95 drug samples manufactured in HP fail quality tests

himachaleditor October 25, 2026 2 minutes read

Shimla, October 25

As many as 95 drug samples manufactured in Himachal Pradesh have failed to meet prescribed quality standards, according to a monthly drug alert issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), raising concerns over quality control in the state’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

Himachal Pradesh accounted for the highest number of failed drug samples among the states listed in the alert.

Across the country, 331 drug samples were found to be substandard, with Uttarakhand reporting 69 failures, followed by Maharashtra with 23, Madhya Pradesh with 22 and Haryana with 21. Rajasthan reported 17 failures, while Gujarat and Tamil Nadu reported 15 each and Punjab 13.

The findings have brought the quality of medicines manufactured in Himachal Pradesh under scrutiny. The state, particularly the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt, is one of India’s major pharmaceutical manufacturing centres, supplying medicines to markets across the country.

According to the report, the failed samples covered several categories of medicines, including children’s syrups, antibiotics, medicines for heart diseases, painkillers, fever and cough preparations, digestive medicines, eye drops, injections, vitamins and other pharmaceutical products.

Laboratory testing of drug samples can identify defects such as improper dissolution, inadequate quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredients and failures in sterility-related standards.

Such defects may affect the effectiveness and safety of medicines, depending on the nature of the failure.

The alert has also drawn attention to pharmaceutical manufacturing units operating in industrial areas such as Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh, Jharmajri, Bhud, Dawni, Gullarwala, Kala Amb, Paonta Sahib, Parwanoo, Solan and Kangra.

State Drug Controller Dr Manish Kapoor, said notices had been issued to the concerned companies and the sale and distribution of the affected batches had been stopped.

Further departmental inquiry and legal action would follow under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, wherever warranted.

The latest findings underline the need for strict enforcement of drug manufacturing standards, regular inspections and effective laboratory testing to ensure that medicines reaching patients meet the prescribed quality requirements.

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Concern mounts over poor quality drugs from Himachal pharma firms

The identification of substandard samples does not, by itself, establish that every product manufactured by the concerned companies is defective. Regulatory action is generally directed at the specific batches found to have failed quality tests.