Close on the heels of India-made eye drops and cough-syrup-associated deaths in the US and the Gambia and Uzbekistan respectively, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and States drug controller authorities has recently cracked the whip against the manufacture of substandard drugs conducted joint inspections at 76 pharma companies and cancelled the licences of 18 of them for producing spurious and adulterated drugs, officials said on Tuesday.
As part of the special drive by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and state drug regulators, 203 firms had been identified and action has been taken against 76 of them which includes issuance of show cause notices to 26 companies. The inspections were carried out across 20 states and Union territories in the past 15 days, they said.
They further said that the action has been taken against 76 companies in the first phase of a special drive against the manufacture of substandard drugs.
"Licences of 18 pharma companies have been cancelled for manufacturing spurious and adulterated drugs and for violating GMP (good manufacturing practice).... Besides, 26 firms have been given show-cause notices," an official source said.
The sources said that as part of the special drive, the regulators have identified 203 firms. A majority of the companies are from Himachal Pradesh (70), followed by Uttarakhand (45) and Madhya Pradesh (23).
As per the details shared by the Union Health Ministry, the maximum- 70- number of drug manufacturing units identified for inspection are in Himachal Pradesh, the drug manufacturing hub of India. Himachal Pradesh is followed by Uttarakhand (45), Madhya Pradesh (23) and Uttar Pradesh (20).
The other states where defaulting drug manufacturers are located include West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Sikkim among others.