If you have had to take medicines when you were sick, it is possible that you may have taken some poor quality medicines or even counterfeit medicines. Yes, the statistics on government tested drugs would make us think so. Government data for the year 2023-2024 states that out of a total of 1,06,150 drug samples for quality testing, 2,988 were found not to be of standard quality. According to a report in Economic Times, 282 medicines were found to be fake in this test.
A big campaign against fake and substandard medicines
Prosecution has been initiated in 604 cases of manufacturing, sale and distribution of counterfeit medicines. According to Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) data, there are around 10,500 units in the country manufacturing various dosage forms and APIs. The government is running a big campaign against fake and substandard medicines. The government is conducting raids on pharmaceutical companies in various states and issuing show cause notices to those violating the rules.
action taken
An official associated with the case says that till now risk based inspection of more than 500 premises has been done. Based on this risk based investigation, actions like issuing show cause notices, stopping production orders, suspension, license or cancellation of production licenses are taken by the state licensing authorities. DCGI has taken this step to crack down on fake and substandard medicines. Non-compliant companies were shut down.
Associating with a legal manufacturer can have negative effects
Last September, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) had said that linking counterfeit products with those of legitimate manufacturers has a serious impact on their standing and finances. This statement comes amid a report by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). More than 50 products have been declared non-standard quality (NSQ) in this report. Various pharmaceutical companies, including Sun Pharma, Torrent Pharma, Alkem Laboratories and Glenmark, termed the medicines identified in the Central Drugs Regulatory Authority report as fake and said that these medicines were not manufactured by them.
