3% of medicines are of poor quality: Survey -Governance Now

3% of medicines are of poor quality: Survey

The survey found that out of the 47,012 samples tested, 13 samples were spurious and 1,850 samples were not of standard quality (NSQ).

GN Bureau | February 25, 2017

#Health ministry #medicines #poor quality #spurious #India news

More than three percent of medicines in India are ‘Not of Standard Quality’ (NSQ) and 0.0245 percent spurious, reveals a survey report on drugs quality by the ministry of health.

The survey carried out by National Institute of Biologicals (NIB), Noida found that out of the 47,012 samples tested, 13 samples were spurious and 1,850 samples were NSQ.

It is the largest ever scientifically designed and professionally executed drug survey undertaken in the world for determining the quality of drugs, a press statement released by the ministry said.

Read: Pause before you pop, it may be spurious

It included as many as 224 drug molecules belonging to 15 different therapeutic categories of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2011. As part of this survey, 47,954 drug samples relating to 23 dosage forms were drawn from 654 districts of 36 states and union territories from the supply chains including retail outlets, government sources and from eight airports and sea ports.

All the samples were subjected to test and analysis in the central and state drug testing laboratories that have been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). A nationwide training in drugs survey methodology was imparted at 28 centres across the country to over 1800 Sample Drawing Officers (SDOs) and representatives of the Civil society / pharmacy council of India (PCI).

They observed that the drugs samples are drawn in accordance with the sampling methodology and the highest degree of transparency and objectivity is maintained in the process to eliminate any bias.

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