Over 160 drug samples found sub-standard in December

New Delhi: India's drug regulator Wednesday flagged 167 drug samples as "not of standard quality" (NSQ) following tests conducted by central and state watchdogs in December.

According to its latest monthly drug alert of the total samples identified as substandard, Central Drugs Laboratories flagged 74, while State Drugs Testing Laboratories found 93 samples to be NSQ.

The flagged products include commonly used drugs like Diclofenac Gastro resistant tablets by Kras Pharmaceuticals, Polymeg 200 by Clariant IGL, Rabeprazole sodium and Domperidone by Torque Pharmaceuticals, Aceclofenac 100 mg, Serratiopeptidase 15 mg and Paracetamol 325 mg tablets by IPCA Laboratories and Ranitidine oral solution by Marvellon Pharmaceuticals.


The list released late on Wednesday also includes Ibuprofen and paracetamol suspension Sneflam DS by Snehal Pharmaceuticals and Surgicals, and Sorbitol solution by Gujarat Ambuja Exports, among others.

According to the CDSCO a drug sample is declared NSQ when it fails to meet one or more prescribed quality parameters. However, such failures are specific to the particular batch tested by government laboratories and do not indicate quality issues with other batches or products available in the market.

In addition, the regulator identified seven drug samples as spurious during December. These included four samples from the North Zone in Ghaziabad, and one sample each from FDA Ahmedabad, Bihar, and Maharashtra.