Red Alert: CDSCO Issues Warning on High BP Medicines, Including Multivitamins, Due to Fake Medicines

Warning on High BP Medicines:The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) had sent 1,167 medicines for quality testing in the month of February. It was found that 58 medicines lacked standard quality. Also, two medicines have been declared fake. Further investigation is still going on on them. 

According to the report, 1,167 drug samples were tested in the laboratory, out of which 1,018 samples were declared of standard quality. About five percent of the total samples tested were declared NSQ, which was almost the same level in the previous month of January, 2024, according to CDSCO data. 

CDSCO issued red alert regarding these medicines

In January this year, 40 medicines and injections manufactured in 25 medicine factories of Himachal were declared sub-standard. These include medicines and injections used for asthma, fever, diabetes, high BP, allergy, epilepsy, cough, antibiotics, bronchitis and gastric. 

This medicine for high BP is fake

CDSCO has said that a batch of anti-hypertensive drugs Telma AM (Telmisartan 40 mg and Amlodipine 5 mg Tablets) and Telma 40 (Telmisartan 40 mg), said to be manufactured by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, failed the quality test and the company informed that the batch of products was not manufactured by them and it is a counterfeit drug.

These drug samples failed the quality check

The drug samples that were declared as NSQ include Aspic-P (Aceclofenac and Paracetamol Tablets) manufactured by Nexchem Biotech Pvt Ltd in Himachal Pradesh, Calcigiant 500 Tablet (Calcium Carbonate and Vitamin D3) manufactured by Nutra Life Healthcare in Uttarakhand, Oflab.

100 DT (Ofloxacin Dispersible Tablets 100 mg) manufactured by Concept Pharmaceuticals, Aurangabad, Mahakali 500 (Calcium and Vitamin D3 Tablets) manufactured by Hanuchem Laboratories, Himachal Pradesh, Cerezyme Tablet (Serratiopeptidase) by Arnav Research Laboratories, Gujarat, XL-Mont (Montelukast Sodium and Levocetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets) by DWD Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat, Hyprovan 500 Injection (Propofol Injection IP 500 mg/50 ml) by Protech Telelinks, Himachal Pradesh, Heparin Sodium Injection 25,000 IU/5 ml by Sai Parenterals Ltd, Telangana.

CDSCO also said that ‘Sun Pharma Laboratories’ has informed that samples of anticonvulsant drug Levipil 500 (levetiracetam tablets) reported to be manufactured by the company, and failed the quality test in the month of January, are not manufactured by the company and that it is a counterfeit drug. CDSCO said that whether the product is reported to be counterfeit, however, depends on the outcome of further investigation.

The organisation tested 932 samples in January, of which about five per cent or 46 samples were declared NSQ. No sample was declared fake or misbranded during the month

During the month of February, more than one sample of some companies like Orchid Bio-Tech, Uttarakhand, MC Pharmaceuticals, Himachal Pradesh and Ridley Life Science Pvt Ltd, Delhi were declared as NSQ.