The quality of medicines being produced in Himachal Pradesh has come under scrutiny as 67 drug samples manufactured in the state have failed within just four months. The total number of failed drug samples in the country is 239, with nearly 30% of the samples failing from Himachal Pradesh.
The maximum number of failed drug samples are from the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area, where several industries are failing samples of medicines repeatedly. Despite the repeated failures, the state drug department has only issued show-cause notices, without taking any serious action against the companies.
Over the past year, there have been 22 industries whose medicine samples have repeatedly failed. There are more than half a dozen industries whose samples of three to four medicines have failed, and some industries have had samples fail multiple times every year for several years.
The seriousness of the situation was highlighted in November 2022 when an industry manufacturing spurious medicines was busted in Baddi. The industry was producing spurious medicines in the name of renowned pharmaceutical companies.
The issue extends beyond medicines, as samples of three vaccines, including the corona vaccine, have also failed. Samples of the corona vaccine, typhoid vaccine, and nongonococcal polysaccharide vaccine failed testing at Kasauli. Although not all vaccines are produced in Himachal Pradesh, the CDL tests vaccine samples being prepared in the country, and these tests are conducted in Kasauli.
The Health Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Colonel Dhaniram Shandil, has taken strict cognizance of the situation and issued a stern warning to pharmaceutical industries whose samples are repeatedly failing. The state drug controller, Navneet Marwah, has suspended production licenses of industries whose samples have failed and drug inspectors are taking on-the-spot action against such industries.
The repeated failures of drug samples in Himachal Pradesh is a serious issue that requires immediate attention and action from the authorities to ensure the safety and efficacy of medicines and vaccines produced in the state.
