India's drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), has flagged 185 drug samples as ‘Not of Standard Quality’ (NSQ) and identified four others as spurious during its monthly quality review for June.

Key highlights:

NSQ and spurious drugs identified

• 185 drug samples flagged as NSQ and 4 samples flagged as spurious.

• 55 NSQ samples were flagged by Central Drugs Laboratories, and 130 were reported by State Drugs Testing Laboratories.

Spurious drug samples

• Spurious samples included Cefixime Tablet from Bihar, Heparin Sodium and Benzyl Nicotinate ointment from Delhi, and Rosuvastatin and Fenofibrate Tablets (Rosuvas F 10 and Rosuvas F 20) from Telangana.

Details of NSQ drugs

• Some of the NSQ samples flagged by Central Laboratories include Dextrose Injection by Tam-Bran Pharmaceuticals, Azithromycin Tablets by Apple Formulations, Paracetamol Intravenous Infusion by D.J. Laboratories, and Telmisartan Tablets by Healers Lab.

• The State laboratories flagged common medicines like Paracetamol, Pantoprazole, Calcium, Vitamin D3 tablets, among others.

Regulatory oversight

• The identification of drugs as NSQ follows failure in meeting specified quality parameters as defined in Section 16(1)(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

• The CDSCO’s monthly review is aimed at removing substandard drugs from the market to ensure quality standards are enforced.

Official statements

• The Health Ministry clarified that identifying drugs as 'NSQ' does not mean that other drug products in the market are unsafe.

• CDSCO's ongoing efforts ensure that all substandard and spurious drugs are swiftly removed from circulation.

The CDSCO’s rigorous monitoring and notification of NSQ and spurious medicines highlight the authority’s ongoing commitment to maintaining drug quality in India. This effort ensures that unsafe or counterfeit medicines do not compromise public health, with a continuous drive to uphold pharmaceutical integrity across the country.