Substandard Drugs

The concluding part of the series delves into strategies being applied by leading drug firms to battle counterfeits

This attitude will need to change if India is serious about escaping the middle-income trap and joining the ranks of high-income nations - even three or four decades from now

More than 50 widely prescribed medications, including treatments for high blood pressure, acid reflux, and erectile dysfunction, were identified as substandard in quality

The widespread nature of the issue stretches across different regions of the country, including Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Waghodia, Vadodara, Andhra Pradesh, and Indore

The Union Home ministry has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the supply of substandard medicines in Delhi government hospitals and whether the drugs were also distributed through mohalla clinics, sources said on Friday. The CBI probe was ordered following a recommendation by Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on the matter in December last year. Saxena said the drugs allegedly "failed quality standard tests" and had the "potential of endangering lives" in hospitals run by Delhi government. The Delhi government's Directorate of Vigilance had written to the home ministry requesting the probe. "It also needs to be investigated whether the same drugs which have been procured by the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) are also being distributed to the patients through the 'Mohalla Clinics' or not," the communication read. The letter said any action for supplying 'Not of Standard Quality' drugs should not be confined to the CPA and there is need to investigate the ent

BJP spokesperson also alleged that the AAP government is taking kickbacks of hundreds of crores of rupees from the party's treasury by giving tests, X-rays etc. to private companies

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged procurement and supply of "non-standard" drugs in Delhi government hospitals, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday. When asked about the matter, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai told PTI that the government will come out with a detailed response. He also alleged that there is an attempt to obstruct the work of the government through such inquiries. The Raj Niwas officials said that in a note to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, the Lt Governor mentioned that it is concerning that these medicines are being given to lakhs of patients. "It is with a sense of deep concern that I have perused the file. I am, to say the least, anguished at the fact that lakhs of hapless people and patients are being supplied fake drugs that have failed quality standard tests," read the note to Kumar. These drugs, procured by the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) under the Delhi Health Services (DHS), were supplied to Delhi

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and state drug inspectors have been conducting inspections as part of a massive nationwide crackdown on spurious and substandard medicines

The DCGI, in a letter dated September 4, has instructed state drug controllers to obtain the details from the firms under their jurisdiction

Move comes after Drugs Controller General of India conducts inspection on 76 drug firms in 20 states

The company has denied its drugs were at fault for the deaths in Gambia and tests by an Indian government laboratory found there were no toxins in them

More than three per cent of the 84,874 drug samples tested in 2020-21 were declared not of standard quality and 263 of them were found to be spurious and adulterated, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The data was based on information received from state and Union territory drug controllers and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Pawar said in written reply to a question. Whenever complaints regarding quality of medicines are received, the CDSCO in coordination with state licensing authority takes action according to provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules. Of the total 84,874 drug samples tested in 2020-21, she said, 2,652 samples (3.12 per cent) were declared not of standard quality and 263 samples (0.31 per cent) were declared spurious and adulterated drugs. On whether the government plans to develop an authentication ecosystem to curb the circulation of substandard medicines in the market, Pawar s

Detection of spurious and substandard drugs was up by 47% from 2020 to 2021, according to an ASPA Report

Out of the 47,012 samples tested, 13 samples were found to be spurious

Abbott's affected batches had expired by the time the drug regulator had issued the alert