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In a revelation that has raised alarms across the medical community and the patients alike, a host of commonly used medicines have failed quality checks.
You may have a fever and be taking paracetamol based on your doctor's prescription, but the medicine might not be effective.
Similarly, you might be taking an antacid like Pantop for an acid reflux, but not feeling any relief. It's also possible that you're on medication for a serious allergy or inflammation, but it's ineffective, or that your blood pressure or diabetes is uncontrolled after taking medication.
All of this can be attributed to the abysmal quality of medicines being sold in the market which fail to provide any remedy to the ailments.
The Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has identified 53 medicines that have failed quality checks. In an alert issued by the CDSCO, the names of major pharmaceutical companies such as Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, Alkem Health Sciences Limited, and Macleods emerged, whose medicines did not meet quality standards.
Among the medicines reported to have sub-standard quality, commonly used medicines like Sun Pharma’s Pantocid, Alkem Health Sciences’ Pantoprazole, Glimipride-2 from Mascot Health Series Private Limited used to manage Type 2 diabetes, and Metformin Hydrochloride Sustained Release Tablets IP (Glycimate-SR-500) from Scott-Edil Pharmacia Limited are all found to have quality issues.
Additionally, Paracetamol 500 mg from Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Telma H used for controlling hypertension from Sun Pharma, Defcort 6 from Macleods Pharmaceuticals used for inflammation and allergies, Metronidazole Tablets IP 400 mg from Hindustan Antibiotics Limited used for treating ulcers and infections were also found to have compromised quality.
The list of such medicines goes on to include Calcium and Vitamin D3 Tablets Shellcal 500 from Pure and Cure Healthcare Private Limited.
It’s not just allopathic medications that are found to suffer from unacceptable qualities. Medicines used for traditional healing practices like the Yograj Guggul medicine from Bhaskar Vilasam Vaidyashala have also been found to be unsatisfactory.
You can click here to see the list of companies and the names of the medicines that failed the tests.
In response to these revelations, some major pharmaceutical companies like Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, and Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited have stated that the medicines identified with quality issues under their names do not belong to them and may be counterfeit. However, the CDSCO has indicated that it will investigate the issue further.
In the findings, CDSCO mentioned issues related to the dissolution (the external hardness and solubility characteristics of the medicine), incorrect information on the medicine, and the improper quantity of certain ingredients.
Additionally, some medicines were indeed found to be counterfeit while being sold under the names of these companies.
In February 2024, the CDSCO issued new guidelines for drug quality testing. Under these guidelines, there are provisions for sampling medicines not only in cities and towns but also in the rural areas at regular intervals. Furthermore, the CDSCO has decided to issue alerts regarding drug quality testing every month.