Drug Quality Alert: 60 Medications Found Substandard in Latest Testing

Concerns rise over drug quality in India as recent testing reveals 60 drug samples failed to meet standard quality benchmarks, prompting investigations into substandard and spurious medications.

Key Points

Central Drugs Laboratories found 60 drug samples to be 'not of standard quality' in February.
State drug testing laboratories identified 134 drug samples as 'not of standard quality'.
Four drug samples were identified as spurious, manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers.
The identification of NSQ drugs is based on the failure of the drug sample in one or more quality parameters.
Regular action is taken in collaboration with state regulators to identify and remove NSQ and spurious drugs from the market.

The Central Drugs Laboratories have found 60 drug samples manufactured by various firms to be "not of standard quality (NSQ)" in its monthly drug alert for February, health ministry officials said on Friday.

The state drug testing laboratories have identified 134 drug samples as NSQ, they said.

According to a routine regulatory surveillance activity, the list of Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) and Spurious drugs is being displayed on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) portal on a monthly basis.

"For the month of February 2026, Central Drugs Laboratories have identified 60 Drug Samples to be Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) and State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 134 Drug Samples as Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)," a health ministry statement said.

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

Spurious Drugs Identified

Further, in February, one drug sample from North Zone, Ghaziabad, two drug samples from Delhi and one drug sample from Assam were identified as spurious drugs, which were manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using a brand name owned by another company. The matter is under investigation and action will be taken according to the law.

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

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