|
14 states and 4 UTs did not submit NSQ data in May
|
|
Gireesh Babu, New Delhi
June 25 , 2025
|
|
|
Even as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has released a list of 186 Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) drug samples in May, with almost 69% of them reported by the State drug regulators, 14 states and four Union Territories (UTs) have not filed the data for the month.
NSQ data received from various other states were already present in the list from the CDSCO during the month of May and April, indicating that more than one sample from different locations have been tested as NSQs in such cases.
According to data from the CDSCO, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, and Uttar Pradesh did not submit any data in respect of NSQ alert for the month of May,2025, as per the instructions from the Drugs Controller General (India) (DCGI), in February 9, 2024.
The UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli; Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh also did not submit the data to the CDSCO.
While the States of Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Assam, and Jharkhand, and the UT of Ladakh have submitted the data, all of the NSQs were already listed in the CDSCO's alert for the month of May. Out of the data submitted by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and the UTs of Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir, one was already listed in the CDSCO's list. Haryana and Goa submitted the NSQ data as nil for the month, it added.
Out of the 128 samples tested in the state laboratories by the states and UTs and declared as NSQs during the month of May, there were samples of drugs manufactured by Cipla Ltd, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals India Pvt Ltd, Pure & Cure Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., (A subsidiary of Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd), Khandelwal Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Leeford Healthcare Ltd, Stride Organics Pvt Limited, Corona Remedies Pvt Ltd, Bajaj Nutraceuticals, among others.
Four samples of a Unani drug from Advanced Pakiza Unani LLP from Thane, and at least one sample of an ayurvedic formulation from Brahmanand Ayurveda has been listed as NSQ during the month.
The 58 drug samples listed as NSQ from the CDSCO and the central laboratories during the month of May include one sample from Zydus Healthcare Limited, Otsuka Pharmaceutical India Private Limited, J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Ipca Laboratories Ltd, Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Paschim Banga Pharmaceutical (A Unit Of Farista Vanijya Pvt. Ltd.), and two samples from Swiss Garnier Life Sciences, and others.
One sample each from public sector undertakings Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd and Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd has also been identified as NSQs.
Two batches of antihypertensive drug Telmisartan tablets 40 mg, branded as Telma 40, were declared as spurious during the month of May, 2025, as the actual manufacturer, as per the label claim, has informed that the said batch of the product was not manufactured by them and that it is a spurious drug. The original brand is marketed by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
"The product is purported to be spurious, however, the same is subject to outcome of investigation," added CDSCO while releasing the list.
As reported earlier, the Drugs Controller General (India) [DCGI] had in February, 2024, issued a circular seeking the regional drug regulators to submit their data in specific format.
The drug regulator, while releasing the list of NSQ s and spurious drugs, said that identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on failure of the drug sample in one or the other specified quality parameters.
"The failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by the government laboratory and it does not warrant any concerns on the other drug products available in the market, said the regulator," said the regulator.
This action of identifying NSQ and Spurious medicines is taken on a regular basis in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market, it added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOPICS
|
That foods might provide therapeutic benefits is clearly not a new concept. ...
|
|
|
|
|