Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) issued a ‘Not of Standard Quality’ (NSQ) alert for August, highlighting that some of the top-selling medicines were produced by well-known pharmaceutical companies, including Alkem Laboratories, Hetero Drugs, Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL), and Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Among the medicines flagged as NSQ are paracetamol tablets (500 mg), the anti-diabetic drug Glimepiride, high blood pressure medication Telma H (Telmisartan 40 mg), acid reflux medication Pan D, and calcium supplements Shelcal C and D3. The list also includes the widely used antibiotic Metronidazole, manufactured by HAL, and Shelcal, distributed by Torrent Pharmaceuticals and produced by Pure & Cure Healthcare in Uttarakhand.
Alkem Health Science's antibiotics, Clavam 625 and Pan D, were also identified as substandard by a Kolkata state-run laboratory. This lab found that Cepodem XP 50 dry suspension from Hyderabad-based Hetero, prescribed for severe bacterial infections in children, did not meet quality standards.
Over 50 medicines, including those for diabetes, hypertension, vitamins, calcium D3 supplements, bacterial infections, and acid reflux, have failed quality tests conducted by India’s drug regulator.
Sun Pharma’s three drugs—Pulmosil for erectile dysfunction, Pantocid for acid reflux, and Ursocol 300—were among those that failed the tests. Glenmark’s hypertension drug Telma H (Telmisartan) and Macleods Pharma’s Defcort 6 for arthritis treatment also did not meet quality standards.
The list includes commonly used medications such as Pan-D, #Paracetamol , antibiotics, blood pressure (BP) medications, sugar control drugs, vitamins, calcium supplements, and others.
