Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration has released a list of 16 Indian pharmaceutical companies that allegedly do not adhere to the World Health Organization’s good manufacturing practices, the Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday.
Nepal has decided not to import medicines manufactured by the companies named in the list.
“After inspection of the manufacturing facilities of the pharmaceutical companies, which had applied to export their products to our country, we have published the list of the companies that do not comply with the World Health Organization’s good manufacturing practices,” Santosh KC, a spokesperson for the department, said.
The World Health Organization’s good manufacturing practice system is aimed at ensuring that products are “consistently produced and controlled to the quality standards appropriate to their intended use and as required by the marketing authorisation”.
Among the companies that will not be able to export medicines to Nepal is Divya Pharmacy, which is part of yoga guru Ramdev’s business conglomerate Patanjali Ayurved.
The other firms are Radiant Parenterals Ltd, Mercury Laboratories Ltd., Alliance Biotech, Captab Biotec, Aglowmed Limited, Zee Laboratories Ltd, Daffodils Pharmaceuticals Ltd, GLS Pharma Limited, Unijules Life Science Ltd, Concept Pharmaceuticals Pvt, Shree Anand Life Sciences Ltd, IPCA laboratories Ltd, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Dial Pharmaceuticals, Aglowmed Limited and Mackur laboratories Ltd.
Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration had sent a team to look into the manufacturing facilities of companies that had applied to supply pharmaceutical products to Nepal. The inspections were conducted between March 31 and July 22.
The development comes two months after the World Health Organization issued a global alert for four cough syrups made by Haryana-based Maiden pharmaceuticals.
This was after authorities in The Gambia linked 66 deaths, most of them due to acute kidney failure, to the cough syrups – Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
However, the Drugs Controller General of India on December 13 wrote to the global health body, saying that it drew a premature link between the deaths of the children and the cough syrups. The authority said that samples of the syrups were tested in a government laboratory and found to be complying with specifications.
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