New Delhi: In a major drive by the government of India against spurious and substandard drugs, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), along with regional counterparts, have carried out raids against 76 pharmaceutical companies in 20 states.
Show-cause notices have been issued to 26 firms which were found to be in violation of regulations. The raids will continue, top sources in the health ministry said, adding a total of 203 companies had been identified.
The states raids were carried out are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
“We are determined to crack down against spurious and substandard drugs. These raids will continue and any company found to be noncompliant of the good manufacturing practices will be closed down. We have identified 203 companies and the 76 initially raided is just the first phase. The product permissions of three firms have been cancelled and 26 others have been issued show-cause notice,” a senior functionary said.
Over the last few months, several cases have come to light where Indian pharmaceutical products were found to be of insufficient quality after being exported to various nations. In Gambia, a cough syrup manufactured in India was linked to several deaths but the government denied it. About a month ago, a court sentenced two executives of a drug company to two-and-half years in jail for exporting substandard drugs to Vietnam a decade ago. Drugs exported by a firm in Hyderabad were recently found contaminated. The health ministry has told the Lok Sabha that the World Health Organisation has issued alerts about four products made in India.
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