83 Himachal-made medicines fail quality standards, latest CDSCO alert reveals
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source: Internet
Shimla, August 23
In a far-reaching revelation about the quality of medicines manufactured in Himachal Pradesh, as many as 83 drug samples produced by pharmaceutical companies in the state have failed to comply with prescribed qualitative and quantitative standards in the latest drug testing exercise.
The findings are part of the latest drug alert issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which found 239 drug samples from across the country not conforming to the prescribed standards.
The Himachal Pradesh pharmaceutical industry accounts for more than one-third of the failed samples, highlighting concerns over quality control in the state, which is one of the country’s major pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs.
According to the sampling data, 40 samples tested by central laboratories failed quality checks, including 12 samples manufactured in Himachal Pradesh.
State drug control laboratories tested another 199 samples, of which 71 Himachal-made medicines failed the prescribed standards.
The failed samples were manufactured by pharmaceutical units located mainly in Solan, Sirmaur, Una and Kangra districts. Solan topped the list with 56 failed samples, followed by Sirmaur with nine, Una with five and Kangra with three.
The failed medicines cover a wide range of formulations, including drugs used for iron deficiency, vitamin-D deficiency, pain and inflammation, dehydration, fever, acidity, folic acid deficiency, anaemia and other ailments.
In one instance, five samples manufactured by a single Baddi-based company failed in the same testing exercise. The samples were of medicines used for treatment of iron deficiency.
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The latest findings have put the spotlight once again on quality-control mechanisms in the state’s pharmaceutical sector and the effectiveness of regulatory checks before medicines reach consumers.
State Drug Controller Dr Manish Kapoor said samples failing quality tests would attract action under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The concerned companies would be issued notices and directed to withdraw the failed batches from the market and submit fresh samples for further testing.
The findings assume significance as Himachal Pradesh, particularly the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt, is among India’s largest centres for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
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