New Delhi: Around 29% of the total Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) drug samples reported by the State drug testing laboratories in the month of January were collected and tested by the drug control authority of Tamil Nadu, according to data from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
Around 21% of the NSQs were reported by the drug regulators of Karnataka, while 17% were reported by Rajasthan.
The data shows that Tamil Nadu has declared 43 NSQs out of the total 147 listed by the State drug controllers overall. Out of the 43 samples reported, 22 drugs were tested by the laboratory in Chennai, while 21 were tested in Madurai.
Karnataka has listed 31 NSQs during the month, while Rajasthan listed 25, including 24 tested in Jaipur and one in Bikaner laboratory. Telangana, one of the major drug manufacturing States, has reported 11 NSQs, while six NSQs were reported by Kerala, five by Odisha, and four each by Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
During the month, when the CDSCO listed a total of 215 drug samples as NSQs, at least 16 states and 7 UTs did not submit NSQ data in January, according to data from the central drug regulator.
During the month, the CDSCO has listed names of states including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, and Union Territories including Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli; Daman & Diu, Delhi, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep, from whom the NSQ data was pending.
Interestingly, data from the states including Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are present in the NSQ list, while these names are also present in the list of states from whom the NSQ data are pending. The CDSCO has earlier named the States which have not submitted data in the format prescribed by the central drug regulator, separately.
Some of the NSQs listed by the States include a sample of crypsin-chyostypsin tablets from Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a sample of terbutaline sulphate, bromhexine Hcl, guaiphenesin syrup from Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, and a sample of levocetirizine dihydrochloride, montelukast from Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceutical, which has faced action from the drug regulators for allegedly contaminated cough syrup recently.
The drugs and medical devices which failed in the quality test in CDSCO Labs include I.V. Cannula with Injection Port and Wings from Poly Medicure Ltd, I.V. Cannula with injection port non return valve, wing Luer Lock from Romsons Group, four samples from Martin & Brown Bio-Sciences Pvt, out of which three samples were of formulation rabeprazole sodium injection IP, and one sample of hydrocortisone sodium succinate injection IP, three samples of meropenem injection I.P. 125 mg from Modern Laboratories, Indore, and three samples of buprenorphine injection IP 2ml from Indus Pharma, Rajasthan.
Samples of albendazole tablets IP 400 mg from Public Sector Undertaking Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd failed in the test of both the CDSCO lab and one of the state laboratories, during the month. A sample of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate tablets IP 625 mg from another Public Sector Undertaking Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, tested by the CDSCO also turned NSQ.
During the month of January, one sample each of ofloxacin and omidazole tablets IP, azithromycin USP/EP/IP, and trypsin-chymotrypsin tablets were declared as spurious by the CDSCO.
These samples are purported to be spurious, however, the same is subject to outcome of investigation, said the central drug regulator.
“The actual manufacturer (as per label claim) has informed that the impugned batch of the product has not been manufactured by them and that it is a spurious drug,” said the drug regulator in each case.
It may be noted that the CDSCO, while announcing the NSQs, has said, “Identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on failure of the drug sample in one or 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”.
“This action of identifying NSQ and spurious medicines is taken on a regular basis in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market,” it added.
It may be noted that the CDSCO has declared 167 samples as NSQs during the month of December, 2025, out of which 93 samples were reported by the State Laboratories. Seven drug samples were declared as spurious during the month, on which investigations have been announced by the drug regulator.
