Samples of 40 drugs made in HP fail CDSCO quality test

Kullu: The samples of as many as 40 drugs, manufactured in Himachal Pradesh, have failed the quality test run by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), a central drug regulatory body that approves and bans drugs and also conducts monthly clinical trials to test the quality of drugs.

According to the drug alert issued by the CDSCO for December 2023, out of the total 78 drugs that failed the test, 40 or 51 per cent were manufactured in Himachal Pradesh, with majority of the pharma units based in Baddi of the state's Solan district. As per the alert, of the 40 manufacturers, 29 are located in Baddi, 3 each in Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb in Sirmaur district, 1 each in Chambaghat, Barog, Jharmajri, Nalagarh in Solan district and one in Kangra. According to the list, Baddi-based Alliance Biotech’s seven samples have failed the test.

The drugs which failed the test are used in the treatment of diseases such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, bacterial infections, blood clotting and arthritis. The drugs also include tablets used for weight loss and alleviating nerve pain. A total of 1,008 samples from all over country were tested.

Meanwhile, state health minister Dhani Ram Shandil on Wednesday said his department would formulate the standard operating procedure (SOP) to check the quality of medicines.