The government has crapped the licences of 18 pharma manufacturers in a massive crackdown on spurious drugs. Joint inspections were carried out by central and state regulators at 76 pharma companies. 18 of them were penalised for making spurious and adulterated drugs, official sources were quoted as saying on Tuesday. The crackdown comes in the wake of recent overseas incidents that have raised questions over the quality of drugs being produced by India-based manufacturers.
The agencies undertook inspections across 20 states and union territories over 15 days. In total, action has been taken against 76 companies in the first phase of a special drive against the manufacture of substandard drugs, a source was quoted as saying. 26 firms have also been served with show-cause notices.
“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 regulators have identified 203 companies as part of the special drive. Most of these companies, as many as 70, come from Himachal Pradesh, followed by 45 from Uttarakhand and 23 from Madhya Pradesh. In months preceding the crackdown, Indian-made cough syrups were linked with deaths in children in Gambia and Uzbekistan. Similarly, eye drops made by a Tamil Nadu-based firm were linked to vision loss in the US leading to recall.
(Inputs from PTI)
