Survey measures substandard medicines from Indian traders

Counterfeit and substandard medicines are still harming the reputation of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and endangering the wellbeing of patients, according to a just-published report.

The report, published by the International Policy Network (IPN), includes the results of a small sampling study conducted by the Liberty Institute in India which found that 7 per cent of drugs purchased from wholesale traders in Delhi were substandard, with half of these found to contain no active ingredients at all.

Some of the spurious drugs contained chalk or talcum powder mixed with a pain reliever to trick and defraud the patient, according to IPN.

The finding "reveals that levels of counterfeit and substandard drugs still affect India's domestic pharmaceuticals market," said the group in a statement. 

Earlier work by the researchers examined five essential drugs for treating bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis, and malaria which were purchased from pharmacies in Delhi and Chennai.  Overall, 12 per cent of sampled medicines from Delhi pharmacies and 5 per cent of those from Chennai outlets were found to be substandard. Analysis of the samples is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, interviews with pharmacists found that 92 per cent said they have been offered substandard or spurious drugs for cheaper prices, while a quarter had been asked for bribes.

"Such corruption raises doubts over the effectiveness of imposing more regulation on the industry," notes IPN. "Instead, producers of high quality medicines must be able to defend their trademarks from counterfeiters, and courts must be able to process cases more fairly and efficiently."

There is a huge backlog of pharmaceutical actions in India's courts, says IPN, and this is allowing traders of illegal and potentially lethal medicines to continue to operate freely.

The report, entitled A Safe Medicines Chest for the World - preventing substandard products from tainting India's pharmaceuticals, is available to download here. The survey was carried out with support from the Legatum Institute.


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