CDSCO flags 4 drugs as spurious, 185 not of standard quality for June 2025

CDSCO has flagged four drugs as spurious and 185 others as not of standard quality for June 2025. The list includes antibiotics and heart disease medications. Investigations are underway

The Central Drug Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday flagged select batches of four drugs as spurious and listed 185 other drugs and formulations as not of standard quality (NSQ) in its routine surveillance for June 2025.

 

The drugs flagged as spurious in the apex regulatory body’s recent monthly update for June 2025 include antibiotic Taxim-O 200 and Rosuvas F10 and F20 tablets, used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. 

 

The list also includes a sample of Thrombophob ointment, which is used to treat superficial inflammation or swelling of a vein due to a blood clot.

   

While the CDSCO alert has named the brand for which they found spurious samples, the alert, however, does not name the drugmakers.

 

“The actual manufacturer (according to label claim) has informed that the impugned batch of the product has not been manufactured by them and that it is a spurious drug,” the CDSCO alert added.

 

Taxim-O is originally marketed by Alkem Laboratories, whereas Rosuvas is a registered brand of Sun Pharma.  

 

The Union Health Ministry added that while two of the spurious drug samples were found from Telangana, one sample each was identified from Bihar and Delhi.

 

A drug is generally considered spurious when it is made by unauthorised manufacturers using brand names owned by other companies.

 

“The matter is under investigation and action will be taken according to the act and rules,” a statement from the Union health ministry said.

 

 

Officials added that unauthorised manufacturers produce counterfeit copies of many popular drugs especially cardiovascular and hypertension medications. “To counter this, rigorous identification and removal of NSQ and spurious drugs from the market is a regular collaborative exercise between central and state regulators,” he added.  

 

Of the 185 drugs found to be NSQ for June, 55 were identified at central drug laboratories in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Guwahati, and Chandigarh, whereas state drugs testing laboratories identified the remaining 130.

 

The identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on failure of the drug sample in one or the other specified quality parameters, such as dissolution, uniformity of weight  and assay of active ingredients in the sample. 

 

However, the ministry stated that the failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by the government laboratories and does not warrant any concerns on the other drug products available in the market.