6% Of Medicine Samples Of Substandard Quality In India

The government has deployed both the drug regulatory authorities at the Center and in the states to prevent malpractices and production of spurious medicines in lieu of the alleged linkage of Indian cough syrup manufacturers with the deaths of some children in Gambia and Uzbekistan.

Previously, a random sampling of 1,487 drugs was undertaken by the drug regulatory body in November. Results from the sampling revealed that 83 (6 per cent) of them were of substandard quality. It also constituted some of the most commonly used antacids, antibiotics, and drugs to lower blood pressure.

Furthermore, 50 (4 per cent) of 1,280 samples were again discovered to be of substandard quality in October.

As per the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) notification, the number of drug samples found to be of sub-standard quality stood at 27, 39, 48, 27, 41, 26, 53, 45, and 59 in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September, respectively.

Dr J A Jayalal, secretary general of the Commonwealth Medical Association, stated that the drug industry is encountering a shortage of staff in most of the state units responsible for regulation.

This issue has been reiterated but to no avail no for action is taken yet, he added. He also said that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

India is the world's pharmacy hub due to its contributions in generic medicines and low-cost vaccines. The highest number of United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)-compliant pharma plants outside the USA are based in India.