More than 50 medicines, including paracetamol, “do not meet standard quality,” according to a recent report by the Central Medicines Agency

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In its latest report, the country's central drug authority classified samples of more than 50 medicines as “substandard quality”. These include paracetamol, Pan D, calcium and vitamin D3 supplements, and antidiabetics.

The drug batches flagged by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in its drug alert for August are from companies such as Alkem Laboratories, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, Hetero Labs Limited, Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Nestor Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Priya Pharmaceuticals and Scott-Edil Pharmacia Ltd.

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The CDSCO drug alert for August included samples from drug batches such as Shelcal, Vitamin B Complex with Vitamin C Softgels, Vitamin C and D3 Tablets and Ciprofloxacin Tablets.

The high blood pressure medications telmisartan and atropine sulfate as well as antibiotics such as amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate tablets were also classified as not being of “standard quality”.

While batches of some medicines failed the ‘dissolution test’ as per Indian Pharmacopoeia and failed the ‘analytical’ and ‘water test’ as per IP, some were identified as adulterated or having volume uniformity issues.

According to an official source, a list of medicines that “do not meet standard quality” is published every month.

“The drug authority constantly monitors medicines and random samples are examined every month to ensure their quality and safety standards. If the quality is found not to meet the standards, appropriate action is taken against the manufacturers,” the source said.

According to CDSCO, the drug authorities of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu have not submitted data on non-standard quality (NSQ) alert for August 2024.

Pondicherry, Telangana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep also did not submit any data, it said.