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More than 50 drugs, including calcium and vitamin D3 supplements, diabetes drugs and high blood pressure drugs, have failed the Indian drug regulator's quality tests. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has classified 53 drugs as Non-Standard Quality Alert (NSQ) in its latest monthly drug alert list. NSQ alerts are generated from random sampling conducted monthly by state drug enforcement agents. Shelcal Vitamin C and D3 Tablets, Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C Capsules, Pan-D Antacids, Paracetamol IP 500 mg Tablets, Antidiabetic Glimepiride, Blood Pressure Drug Telmisartan and many more of 53 best selling drugs. Failed quality testing by drug regulatory authorities. These drugs are manufactured by Hetero Drugs, Alkem Laboratories, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Meg Lifesciences, Pure and Cure Healthcare and others.
Metronidazole, a widely used drug used to treat stomach infections, manufactured by PSU Hindustan Antibiotic Limited (HAL), was one of the drugs that failed the quality check. Shelkal, marketed by Torrent Pharmaceuticals and manufactured by Uttarakhand-based Pure and Cure Healthcare, also failed the test. Furthermore, the Calcutta Drug Testing Laboratory found that Alkem Health Sciences' antibiotics Clavam 625 and Pan-D were fake medicines. The same institution has found the dry suspension of Cepodem XP 50 Hetero Hyderabad prescribed to children with severe bacterial infections to be substandard. Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd's paracetamol tablets have also come under scrutiny due to quality concerns. The Medicines Agency has published two lists of medicines that have failed quality tests. One list contains 48 popular drugs, while the second list contains five additional drugs and a response section from pharmaceutical companies that have failed these tests. However, according to the response, the company denied responsibility and said the drugs were “counterfeit”.
The pharmaceutical company's response said: "The actual manufacturer has informed us (as stated on the label) that the contaminated batch of product was not manufactured by them and is a counterfeit drug." In August, CDSCO banned more than 156 Fixed-dose combination drugs from the Indian market that “may pose a risk to humans.” These medications include common fever reducers, painkillers and allergy tablets.
