Indian pharmacy group seeks action on 'spurious' meds

The Chemists’ Association Pune District (CAPD) in India has sent a letter to the medicines regulator in Maharashtra to demand more robust action against spurious medicines like falsified and substandard drugs.

The organisation claims that up to 20 per cent of medicines in the market may be falsified or fail to meet quality standards, according to a report in The Hindustan Times. The CAPD wants the Maharashtra FDA to tighten up its oversight of the sector, specifically by "making it compulsory for all pharmaceutical companies to report their third-party manufacturing arrangements," carrying out regular inspections and audits of these companies, and increasing the penalties imposed on those that are found to have broken the rules.

It argues that the lack of transparency around third-party manufacturing agreements allows "loopholes" that the companies behind falsified and substandard products can exploit. Closing them would "enhance transparency across the supply chain and make it easier for the FDA to track drug quality and origin," according to the report.