Drugs

To ensure ethical pharmaceutical practices in the supply chain of weight-loss drugs of the GLP-1 class, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has intensified its regulatory surveillance against the unauthorised sale and promotion of the medications. To this end, inspections and audits have been carried out at many online pharmacy warehouses, drug wholesalers and retailers to check for unauthorised sale and improper prescription. With the recent introduction of multiple generic variants of GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs in the Indian market, concerns have emerged regarding their on-demand availability through retail pharmacies, online platforms, wholesalers, and wellness clinics, health ministry officials said on Tuesday. These drugs, when used without proper medical supervision, may lead to serious adverse effects and related health risks. Taking cognisance of the situation, the DCGI, in collaboration with state regulators, has initiated a series of targeted actions to curb .

CDSCO flagged four drugs as spurious and 194 as not of standard quality in February 2026, including widely used medicines, as part of routine surveillance

Lilly positions tirzepatide as a clinically superior option as semaglutide patent expiry triggers a wave of generics, intensifying competition in India's diabetes and obesity market

Novo Nordisk says competition in semaglutide will be driven by science and quality, not pricing, as multiple generic versions prepare to enter India after patent expiry

CDSCO's DTAB panel proposes boxed warnings on emergency contraceptive pills and inclusion under Schedule K to ensure safer usage while retaining over-the-counter availability

These drugs, though approved for type 2 diabetes, have witnessed a surge in demand globally due to their weight-loss effects

India is the first major country after Canada where Novo is losing patent on semaglutide and will see an onslaught of generic versions

Experts say 2026 could be a crucial year for drug patents, with the likely emergence of fresh disputes over follow-on patents

CDSCO has mandated online submission of applications for licences to manufacture and sell r-DNA-origin drugs through the ONDLS portal to streamline regulatory processes

The Delhi High Court on Friday gave its nod to the continuation of disciplinary proceedings against IRS officer Sameer Wankhede in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case. A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre's plea against an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which quashed the disciplinary proceedings against Wankhede in the matter. "This petition is allowed," said the bench while pronouncing the verdict. A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited. The central government challenged the CAT order passed on January 19, quashing the 'Charge Memorandum' issued to Wankhede on August 18, 2025, by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Wankhede, a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, made headlines for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's family by threatening to implicate his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case during his tenure in the Narcotics Control

Maria Dolores Aguirre's family corner store has lived off tourism that has flowed into her charming cobblestoned town of Tapalpa, tucked away in the mountains of Jalisco state. That was until gunshots erupted and helicopters flew overhead as the Mexican army killed the country's most powerful drug lord, just a few kilometers from her home. Now, the 50-year-old Aguirre worries that the bloodshed will deal a blow to her livelihood and change towns like hers. It is something many in the western Mexican state are grappling with, from its Pacific Ocean beaches to its capital Guadalajara that will host matches in June for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "It's going to affect us. It's collateral damage," Aguirre said. "The government is going to have to have a lot of security... The entire world just saw what happened and, of course, people are going to think twice about coming." Fighting between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Mexican security forces raged on in a number of states Monday,

From a small village in Michoacan to leading the powerful CJNG cartel across 60 countries, El Mencho built a vast drug network before being killed in a Mexican army operation in Jalisco

Top security officials revealed details of the operation that led to the death of Mexico's most wanted drug cartel leader

The US military said it killed three people Monday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Trump administration's months-long campaign against alleged traffickers. Monday's attack brought the death toll to at least 151 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in small vessels in early September. As with most of the military's statements on the more than 40 known strikes, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs but posted a video on X that showed a small boat with outboard engines being destroyed. "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," Southern Command stated in a post on X. "Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action." President Donald Trump

Mexico saw gun battles, arson and road blockades after its army killed cartel boss El Mencho. With violence spreading across states, India and the US advised citizens to shelter in place

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho, " on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico's most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts. Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States. During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical ...

The US military said Friday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command said on social media that the boat "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." It said the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat floating in the water before bursting into flames. Friday's attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 148 people in at least 43 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. President Donald Trump has said the US is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing "narcoterrorists." Critics have questioned the overa

The navies of El Salvador and Mexico announced drug seizures in the Pacific Ocean this week of more than 10 tonnes of cocaine, in contrast to deadly strikes by the US government that just this week left 11 people dead on three boats suspected of carrying drugs in Latin American waters. The latest announcement came Thursday, when Mexico said it had seized nearly four tonnes of suspected drugs and detained three people from a semisubmersible craft, 250 nautical miles (463 kilometres) south of the port of Manzanillo. Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said via X that the seizure from the sleek, low-riding boat with three visible motors brought the weekly total to nearly 10 tonnes, but he did not provide detail on the other seizures. Mexican authorities said the seizure was made with intelligence shared US Northern Command and the US Joint Interagency Task Force South. On Sunday, El Salvador's navy announced the largest drug seizure in the country's history of 6.6 tonnes of

FY27 PLI scheme allocation rises 2.24%, aiming to add 500 MT to domestic API production

India has entered the first phase of generic semaglutide approvals, with CDSCO clearing multiple formulations for obesity and diabetes, paving the way for lower-cost GLP-1 therapies