Centre cancels licences of 18 firms selling spurious drugs
- New Delhi: In a major crackdown on pharmaceutical companies selling substandard or spurious drugs, the Centre has cancelled the licenses of 18 firms across the country health ministry sources said on Tuesday.
- These firms were found to be violating the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and, the sources said, in some cases, the samples of drugs being manufactured by them were found to be spurious or not-of-standard quality, leading to the government action.
- The crackdown comes in the backdrop of two recent incidents reported from Uzbekistan and Gambia, where it was alleged, medical products exported by two Indian firms to the two countries had certain contaminants that led to adverse reactions and the death of some patients.
- The sources said a joint inspection was carried out in 20 states across the country by the Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) and the state drug control administration.
- "We identified 203 drug manufacturing units for potential violation of GMP. In phase-I of the nationwide crackdown, action has been initiated against 76 units. Further inspection and action will continue," said a senior health ministry official. He added that the government has cancelled the license of 18 firms and asked them to stop manufacturing drugs,
- Product licenses of three other firms were cancelled and 26 others were issued show-cause notice by the government in the ongoing crackdown, the official said.