Centre crack down on pharma companies over substandard drugs

New Delhi: The Union government had suspended the licenses of 18 pharma companies in the country due to poor drug quality. According to the source on Tuesday, the Drug Controller General of India inspected 76 companies, resulting in the suspension of 18 licenses and the issuance of show-cause notices to 26 companies regarding their drug quality.

Additionally, the Union government had cancelled the product permissions of three pharma companies.

In a joint operation by the Union government and the states, action was taken against pharma companies across 20 states. The special drive had been initiated to stop the production of 'Not of Standard Quality' medicine and to ensure Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of medicine across the country, said the source.

The source said that the DCGI's action was taken in the last 15 days in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. The source said that the special drive will continue to stop the production of substandard medicines in the country.

Last year, the World Health Organisation issued an alert for four "contaminated" medicines manufactured by an Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, which were under suspicion for being potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children in The Gambia.

The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

With IANS input