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Over 100,000 doses of fever and blood pressure medication at Nagpur’s Mayo and Medical hospitals fail quality tests; concerns raised over patient safety
Nagpur: Stocks of fever and high blood pressure medications, supplied by the government to the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo) and the Government Medical College and Hospital (Medical)—institutions considered lifelines for underprivileged patients—have failed laboratory tests. Following a report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the use of over 100,000 tablets of these two medicines has been immediately halted, and orders have been issued to recall the existing stock.
Both 'Paracetamol 500 mg' (Parasev 500)—used for fever and body aches—and 'Telmisartan 40 mg'—used for high blood pressure—were manufactured by Cureja Healthcare Private Limited, based in Indore.
In August, an FDA team collected samples of these medicines from Mayo Hospital for testing. According to the report received on September 10, the 'Parasev 500' tablets from batch 'PTTC-108' failed the test because their physical appearance did not meet prescribed standards. Meanwhile, the sample of 'Telmisartan 40 mg' from the same company's batch 'CHPLT 416' failed to meet quality criteria.
Medical Hospital had procured a stock of over 50,000 'Parasev 500' tablets from Mayo Hospital. Upon the report's release, Dr. Avinash Turankar, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Medical Hospital, issued written instructions to all wards and OPD departments to immediately stop distributing these tablets and return the available stock. The FDA has issued a notice to the Mayo administration under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, ordering the submission of all documents related to the purchase, sale, and distribution of medicines within three days.
Manish Chaudhary, Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nagpur, stated, "Regular inspections of medicines in government hospitals are conducted. Reports on samples of Paracetamol and Telmisartan manufactured by Cureja Healthcare—collected in August—indicated that the drugs were not of standard quality. Taking serious note of this, orders have been issued to hospitals to immediately halt their distribution and recall existing stocks."
While medicine shortages are a perennial issue in government hospitals, there is growing outrage over the fact that even the available stock is failing quality tests. Questions are now being raised about whether action will be taken against the company involved and whether it will be blacklisted.
Nagpur: Stocks of fever and high blood pressure medications, supplied by the government to the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo) and the Government Medical College and Hospital (Medical)—institutions considered lifelines for underprivileged patients—have failed laboratory tests. Following a report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the use of over 100,000 tablets of these two medicines has been immediately halted, and orders have been issued to recall the existing stock.
Both 'Paracetamol 500 mg' (Parasev 500)—used for fever and body aches—and 'Telmisartan 40 mg'—used for high blood pressure—were manufactured by Cureja Healthcare Private Limited, based in Indore.
In August, an FDA team collected samples of these medicines from Mayo Hospital for testing. According to the report received on September 10, the 'Parasev 500' tablets from batch 'PTTC-108' failed the test because their physical appearance did not meet prescribed standards. Meanwhile, the sample of 'Telmisartan 40 mg' from the same company's batch 'CHPLT 416' failed to meet quality criteria.
Medical Hospital had procured a stock of over 50,000 'Parasev 500' tablets from Mayo Hospital. Upon the report's release, Dr. Avinash Turankar, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Medical Hospital, issued written instructions to all wards and OPD departments to immediately stop distributing these tablets and return the available stock. The FDA has issued a notice to the Mayo administration under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, ordering the submission of all documents related to the purchase, sale, and distribution of medicines within three days.
Manish Chaudhary, Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nagpur, stated, "Regular inspections of medicines in government hospitals are conducted. Reports on samples of Paracetamol and Telmisartan manufactured by Cureja Healthcare—collected in August—indicated that the drugs were not of standard quality. Taking serious note of this, orders have been issued to hospitals to immediately halt their distribution and recall existing stocks."
While medicine shortages are a perennial issue in government hospitals, there is growing outrage over the fact that even the available stock is failing quality tests. Questions are now being raised about whether action will be taken against the company involved and whether it will be blacklisted.
Both 'Paracetamol 500 mg' (Parasev 500)—used for fever and body aches—and 'Telmisartan 40 mg'—used for high blood pressure—were manufactured by Cureja Healthcare Private Limited, based in Indore.
In August, an FDA team collected samples of these medicines from Mayo Hospital for testing. According to the report received on September 10, the 'Parasev 500' tablets from batch 'PTTC-108' failed the test because their physical appearance did not meet prescribed standards. Meanwhile, the sample of 'Telmisartan 40 mg' from the same company's batch 'CHPLT 416' failed to meet quality criteria.
Medical Hospital had procured a stock of over 50,000 'Parasev 500' tablets from Mayo Hospital. Upon the report's release, Dr. Avinash Turankar, Head of the Department of Pharmacology at Medical Hospital, issued written instructions to all wards and OPD departments to immediately stop distributing these tablets and return the available stock. The FDA has issued a notice to the Mayo administration under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, ordering the submission of all documents related to the purchase, sale, and distribution of medicines within three days.
Manish Chaudhary, Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nagpur, stated, "Regular inspections of medicines in government hospitals are conducted. Reports on samples of Paracetamol and Telmisartan manufactured by Cureja Healthcare—collected in August—indicated that the drugs were not of standard quality. Taking serious note of this, orders have been issued to hospitals to immediately halt their distribution and recall existing stocks."
While medicine shortages are a perennial issue in government hospitals, there is growing outrage over the fact that even the available stock is failing quality tests. Questions are now being raised about whether action will be taken against the company involved and whether it will be blacklisted.
