Latest news with #NSQ
New Indian Express
01-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Bengaluru Chemists' body seeks crackdown on fake medicines
BENGALURU: The Bangalore District Chemists and Druggists Association (BDCDA) has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to constitute a high-level enforcement task force headed by senior IPS officers to tackle the growing threat of counterfeit medicines. The association said the proposed task force, involving officers from the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration department (FDA), must be empowered to carry out state-wide raids, seizures, and arrests of those involved in the fake drug trade, which it described as 'a form of national public health terrorism.' BDCDA acknowledged and appreciated the government's recent move to develop a software for the recall of Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) drugs — a first-of-its-kind initiative in India. However, it emphasised that this only addresses a limited part of the much bigger issue of counterfeit and spurious drugs in circulation, particularly in the post-Covid period, when their prevalence has reportedly surged by 50%. Citing Parliamentary Standing Committee findings and recent trends, the association warned that counterfeit medicines were infiltrating the market due to lax enforcement, lenient laws, and growing consumer preference for discounted drugs. A key bottleneck, according to BDCDA, is the shortage of drug inspectors. Only eight out of 12 sanctioned posts in the state are filled, making surveillance against fake drugs extremely difficult. To address this, it reiterated the need for an IPS-led multi-agency team that could plug enforcement gaps and ensure strong punishment for offenders.
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Hypertension, anti allergy meds among 196 drugs flagged by CDSCO as NSQ
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has labelled batches of 196 drugs and formulations as not of standard quality (NSQ) in its monthly quality review for April 2025. The NSQ list includes a fixed drug combination (FDC) of teneligliptin and metformin hydrochloride, which is used to treat hypertension, and antibacterials such as cefpodoxime proxetil tablets. The list also includes batches of painkillers containing combinations of paracetamol with nimesulide and aceclofenac, as well as cough syrups and anti-allergy formulations. Of the 196 drug samples found NSQ for April 2025, 60 were identified by central drug laboratories, while 136 were tested at state laboratories. The country's apex drug regulator also flagged one batch of Deca-Durabolin injections, which are used to manage post-menopausal osteoporosis and anaemia, as spurious. While the CDSCO has named the brand for which it found spurious samples, it has not named the drug manufacturer. The health ministry said the spurious drug sample was identified from Bihar, adding that it was manufactured by an unauthorised entity using the brand name owned by another company. 'The matter is under investigation and action will be taken according to rules,' the ministry note added. Spurious drugs are fake or counterfeit medicines that falsely claim to be genuine, often containing incorrect, contaminated, or no active ingredients—making them ineffective and potentially harmful to patients. 'The actual manufacturer (as per label claim) has informed that the impugned batch of the product has not been manufactured by them and that it is a spurious drug,' the CDSCO alert added. As part of continuous regulatory surveillance, the CDSCO picks up drug samples from sales or distribution points, analyses them, and displays a list of spurious drugs on its portal on a monthly basis. 'This action of identifying NSQ and spurious medicines is taken on a regular basis in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market,' the NSQ alert stated.
