Reputed pharmaceutical companies’ 53 medicines fail in quality test

Medicines used in common diseases like fever, diabetes, high blood pressure

New Delhi – In its latest monthly drug alert list, the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) declared 53 drugs, including paracetamol, as “Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) Alert.”

More than 50 drugs, including calcium and vitamin D3 supplements, anti-diabetes pills, acid reflux and high blood pressure medicines have failed quality tests by India’s drug regulator.

NSQ alerts are generated from random monthly sampling conducted by state drug officers.

Some of the drugs that failed the quality test are –

• Paracetamol Tablets IP 500 mg – M/s. Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
• Glimepiride Tablets IP (2 mg) – M/s. Mascot Health Series Pvt. Ltd.
• Telmisartan Tablets IP 40 mg – M/s. Life Max Cancer Laboratories
• Pan-D : Pan-D is a prescription medicine used to treat acid reflux, indigestion, and gastritis by Alkem Laboratories
• Calcium And Vitamin D3 Tablets IP (Shelcal 500) – M/s. Pure & Cure Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
• Clavam 625 : Clavam 625 tablets are an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections of the lungs, ear, nasal sinus, urinary tract, skin, and soft tissue.
• Cepodem XP 50 Dry Suspension, a common infection medication used for children by Hetero Drugs
• Ursocol 300 (Ursodeoxycholic Acid Tablets IP) by Sun Pharma
• Deflazacort Tablets (Defcort 6 Tablets)

Vitamin C and D3 tablets Shelcal, vitamin B complex and vitamin C softgels, antiacid Pan-D, Paracetamol tablets IP 500 mg, anti-diabetic drug Glimepiride, high blood pressure drug Telmisartan, and many more are among the 53 top-selling drugs that failed the quality check by the drug regulator.These medicines are manufactured by Hetero Drugs, Alkem Laboratories, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Meg Lifesciences, Pure & Cure Healthcare and more.

A widely used drug for treating stomach infections, Metronidazole, produced by PSU Hindustan Antibiotic Limited (HAL), is among those that failed quality tests.Similarly, Shelcal, distributed by Torrent Pharmaceuticals and manufactured by Uttarakhand-based Pure & Cure Healthcare, also did not pass the test.Additionally, a Kolkata drug-testing lab has deemed Alkem Health Science’s antibiotics Clavam 625 and Pan D as spurious.

The same lab identified Hyderabad-based Hetero’s Cepodem XP 50 Dry Suspension, prescribed for children with severe bacterial infections, as substandard.Paracetamol tablets from Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd have also been flagged for quality concerns.

Editorial Perspective

Many of these pharmaceutical establishments have been accused of looting public money. Now it has come to light that they are playing with public health. The public would question – out of these, why should foreign establishments not be banned and related Indian pharmaceutical establishments not be de-licensed ?