Central labs find 64 drug samples to be not of standard quality in its Nov drug alert

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The central drugs laboratories found 64 drug samples manufactured by various firms to be "not of standard quality (NSQ)" in its monthly drug alert for November, health ministry officials said on Friday.

Further, the State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 141 drug samples as NSQ, they said.

According to routine regulatory surveillance activity, the list of NSQ and spurious drugs is uploaded on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) portal every month.

"For November 2025, Central Drugs Laboratories have identified 64 drug samples to be not of standard quality, while the State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 141 drug samples as NSQ," a health ministry statement said.

NSQ drug samples are based on failure in one or 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, it said.

Further, in November, two drug samples from the north zone, Ghaziabad, were identified as spurious drugs, which were manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using a brand name owned by another company. The matter is under investigation, and action will be taken as per the Act and Rules.

This action of identifying NSQ and spurious medicines is taken regularly in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market.