DCGI found 50 medicines substandard, including paracetamol and henna mehndi
India's drug regulator has found the quality of 50 life-saving medicines, including paracetamol and henna mehendi, to be substandard, raising concerns over public health and safety.
The DCGI has found that 50 life-saving medicines in India, including those used to control fever and seizures, are of substandard quality. These medicines include Paracetamol 500 mg, Telmisartan anti-hypertension drug, Coughtin cough syrup, Clonazepam tablet used to control seizures, painkiller Diclofenac, multi-vitamins and calcium tabs. Apart from this, misbranding of Henna Mehndi has also been found.
This comes after the drug regulator found that the commonly used henna mehendi was also of substandard quality and misbranded as per the provisions laid down under the cosmetics category. This comes at a time when India's pharmaceutical sector is under scrutiny after cough syrups manufactured in the country were linked to child deaths abroad.
According to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's (CDSCO) drug alert for May, the drug samples were collected from states including Waghodiya (Gujarat), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Ambala, Indore, Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. Paracetamol 500mg. These tablets, which have been found to be substandard, are manufactured by Escon Healthcare based in Ujjan, Madhya Pradesh. The firm has claimed on its official website that it is manufacturing pharmaceutical finished dosage forms. Phone calls and email queries sent to Escon Healthcare did not elicit a response.
DCGI List Other medicines on the DCGI list include Lactulose Solution used to treat constipation, the anti-hypertension drug Telmisartan and Amlodipine Amlodipine IP Tablet, Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection IP used for the management of auto-immune diseases and severe infections, and Clonazepam TabletsIP 0.5mg used to treat neurological complications.
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The drug samples were tested at both central and state laboratories. Earlier in February, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajiv Raghuvanshi had directed states/UTs to keep a strict vigil on the quality of medicines available in the market and conduct random sampling of medicines. This initiative is helping in creating a monthly database of fake and substandard medicines and tracking the manufacturers.
Health Minister JP Nadda directed officials to ensure safety and quality of medicines in the country. Questions sent to the Health Ministry spokesperson did not elicit a response till press time.
