220 drug samples fail quality tests in August

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Central drugs laboratories have found 29 drug samples manufactured by various firms to be "not of standard quality (NSQ)" in its monthly drug alert for August, health ministry officials said on Tuesday.

Further, the state drug-testing laboratories have identified 191 drug samples as NSQ, they added.

In accordance with routine regulatory surveillance activity, the lists of NSQ and spurious drugs are being displayed on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's (CDSCO) portal on a monthly basis.

"For the month of August 2026, Central Drugs Laboratories have identified 29 drug samples to be Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) and State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 191 drugs samples as NSQ," a health ministry statement said.

Identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on the failure of the samples in one or the other specified quality parameters. The failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by a government laboratory and it does not warrant any concerns on the other drug products available in the market, the statement said.

Further, one drug sample from the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has been identified as spurious. The drug was manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using a brand name of another company. The matter is under investigation and action will be taken in accordance with law.

This action of identifying NSQ and spurious medicines is taken on a regular basis in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market, the statement said.