New Delhi, Aug 11 (KNN) In at least 40 pharmaceutical companies manufacturing has been halted and licences of specific products have either been suspended or cancelled for another 66, following a risk-based assessment of 162 firms conducted earlier in the year.

As per data provided by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Parliament, an FIR has also been registered in one of the cases.

Warning letters have also been issued in 21 cases after the inspection by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and the State authorities. In total, 143 show-cause notices had been issued.

Officials from the health ministry had previously said that the inspection by the government found several deficiencies, including raw materials not being tested before use, product quality review not being conducted, absence of quality failure investigation, infrastructure deficiency to prevent cross-contamination, faulty design of manufacturing and testing areas, missing qualified professionals, and poor documentation.

This is one of the reasons the government is now pushing for all drug manufacturing units in the country to adopt good manufacturing practices (GMP) on par with international standards set by the World Health Organisation. At present, only 2,000 of India’s 10,500 manufacturing units follow these practices.

The move comes against the backdrop of India pitching itself as the global hub of affordable and quality generic medicines. At the same time, there have been a string of incidents where other countries have alleged that contamination was found in India-made syrups and eye drops and ointments.

The deaths of at least 70 children in the Gambia, 18 children in Uzbekistan, and six children in Cameroon have been linked to contamination in India-made syrups by these countries.  (KNN Bureau)