Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 17: Eighteen drugs in Jammu and Kashmir have been found sub-standard quality by country’s leading drug testing laboratories.
A report of 63 drug samples taken by Central Drug Control Organization and sent to Central Drug Laboratory Kolkatta suggests that 11 samples of drugs were found below standard quality.
These drugs are: Paracetamol tablets IP 500mg, Cefdom-P 200mg Cefpodoxime 200 mg tablets, Cardpin-5 Amlodipine Besilate tablets, Zergo-50 Losartan tablet IP, Diazepam tablet IP, Pantomas Pantoprazole Socium Sesquihydrate tablets, Marycal-500 calcium carbonate tablets, Amoxycillin and Potassium Clavulanate tablets IP 625mg, Lavitrax-livo citrizine dihydrochloride tablets IP 5mg, Onofbact-200 Ofloxacin tablets IP and Martifur Nitrofurantoin tablets IP.
The reports of 107 samples taken from various places in the State by Central Drug Control Organization and sent to Regional Drug Testing Laboratory Chandigarh found seven samples as below standard.
The drugs that have been found substandard are: Curedox amoxicillin oidoxacillin capsules, Levocitrizine dihydrochloride tablets IP 5mg Levitrax, Cefpodozime Proxetil tablets IP Cefdom P, Calcium Carbonate tablets, Ofloxacin tablets IP Onofbact-200, Nitrofurantoin tablets IP Martifur and Clonazepam 1mg IP.
The Assistant Solicitor General of India, Showkat Makroo, today submitted before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that these were lifted after the spurious drug scam surfaced last year.
Last year 24 drugs were found sub-standard by the leading Drug Testing Laboratories of the country.
It may be mentioned here that cases were registered last year against suppliers and manufacturers of Maxamizine-625 drug that was supplied to hospitals across Kashmir valley and was found spurious. The antibiotic tested negative for amoxicillin while the company had claimed that it contains 500 miligramme of amoxicillin.
Following the expose and outcry across the State, the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad sent an 11-member team from the CDSCO to the Jammu and Kashmir to investigate the quality of drugs being supplied to the Government run hospitals and those available in the open market.
And in the meantime, a Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Hasnain Masoodi and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur today directed the Government to file a comprehensive report within two weeks regarding steps taken to make Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 operational on the ground.
While hearing a Public Interest Litigation titled as Dr. Nissar-ul-Hassan Vs State and others the bench directed the State to indicate in the report that number of Drug Inspectors appointed and in place as on date, number of posts lying vacant/unfilled, the particulars of the Drug Inspectors as on date holding charge of more than one area, the number of samples taken by Drug Inspectors from July last year and the results of analysis, steps taken to implement the recommendations of committee constituted by the Central Government and Adopted by the State Government, the steps taken for setting up Drug analysis laboratories at Srinagar and Jammu and the action taken against the pharmaceutical companies found by CDL Kolkata and RDTL Chandigarh to have manufactured, marketed, supplied substandard drugs.
The court while perusing the reports filed by the State said that the Government has yet to come up with clear stand on compliance of directions passed from time to time by High Court except granting sanctions to the prosecution of some officers allegedly involved in purchase of spurious drugs.
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