CDSCO flags 4 spurious drugs, 194 fail quality tests in February 2026

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

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has flagged select batches of four drugs as spurious and listed 194 other drugs and formulations as not of standard quality (NSQ) in its routine surveillance for February 2026.

 

Among the spurious drugs were two tablets and two creams, whose brand names were not provided by the CDSCO. The spurious drugs include a batch of amoxycillin and potassium clavulanate tablets, which are used as antibiotics, and ursodeoxycholic acid tablets used to treat gall bladder and liver ailments.

 

The CDSCO also found two batches of antibacterial creams to be spurious, which are used to treat inflamed skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.

   

The central drug regulator said that of the four drug samples found to be spurious, one was identified from its North Zone jurisdiction, which includes Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Among others, two samples were identified from Delhi, while another sample was found in Assam.

 

While the regulator did not disclose the name of the manufacturer of the spurious syrup, it said the actual manufacturer, as per the label claim, had informed authorities that the impugned batch was not made by them and was therefore a spurious drug.

 

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

 

“The batch sampled for investigation was manufactured by an unauthorised manufacturer using the brand name owned by another company. The matter is under investigation and action will be taken as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,” an official familiar with the matter said.

 

The CDSCO also flagged samples of 194 drugs as NSQ, of which 60 were tested in central laboratories and 134 in state laboratories. These include commonly used formulations such as paracetamol, pantoprazole, and multivitamin supplements.

 

The list also includes several batches of diclofenac-based pain relievers, telmisartan tablets prescribed for high blood pressure, as well as multiple combinations of levocetirizine and montelukast tablets used to treat allergy symptoms.

 

Drug samples are categorised as NSQ when they fail to meet specified quality parameters such as dissolution, uniformity of weight, and assay of active ingredients.

 

“The failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by the government laboratory and does not warrant any concerns about other drug products available in the market,” the Union health ministry said in a press note.

 

The ministry added that the identification and removal of NSQ and spurious drugs is a regular, collaborative exercise between central and state regulators. It also clarified that the quality failure is limited to the batches tested and does not raise concerns about other batches of the same drugs available in the market.