Drugs

Govt to amend anti-doping law, proposes five-year jail for suppliers

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said the National Anti Doping Act will be amended to criminalise trafficking and distribution of prohibited substances with a jail term of upto five years. The amendments have been uploaded on the sports ministry's website for requisite feedback from the public. "Whoever administers or applies to an athlete, for the purpose of or in connection with doping in sport...shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to (five) years, or with fine which may extend up to (two lakh) rupees, or both," the amendment states. Mandaviya said the amended bill will be tabled in the next session of Parliament. "Doping is no longer just a sporting violation; it has evolved into an organised ecosystem exploiting athletes," Mandaviya said in an interaction with the media here. "We only punish those who are consuming but suppliers need to be targetted as well," he added.

AIOCD to go ahead with May 20 strike despite states opting out of protest

AIOCD will continue with its proposed nationwide strike against online pharmacies despite several state retail pharmacy associations opting out of the protest

India joins weight-loss drug race, but affordability remains a concern

India is in the race for a new class of weight-loss drugs, but the question is: Will they be affordable?

CDSCO asks firms to file safety reports from launch date of new drugs

India's drug regulator has directed manufacturers and importers to submit Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSURs) for new drugs from the date of actual marketing of the product rather than from the date of regulatory approval, in a move aimed at strengthening post-marketing safety surveillance. In an advisory issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on April 21, the regulator said it has observed instances where companies obtained approval for a new drug but launched the product in the market much later while submitting PSUR data from the approval date instead of the launch date. The CDSCO said such a practice results in the loss of "valuable safety insights" that are critical for monitoring adverse effects and ensuring patient safety after commercial roll out of medicines. Under the Fifth Schedule of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, manufacturers and importers are required to submit PSURs as part of post-marketing drug safety monitoring. "In v

Respiratory drug sales rise 17.7% in April on seasonal flu, asthma rise

Respiratory drug sales outpaced overall pharmaceutical market growth in April, driven by seasonal flu, pollution, and rising asthma and COPD cases

Generic GLP-1 sales increase, but innovators retain market share

Over 25 versions of weight-loss drugs currently available in the market

NCB busts narcotics ring, cocaine worth ₹1,745 cr seized in Mumbai: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Narcotics Control Bureau has busted a major international narcotics ring, seizing 349 kilograms of high-grade cocaine worth Rs 1,745 crore in Mumbai. Announcing the seizure on microblogging platform X, Shah said, "We are resolved to ruthlessly crush the narcotics cartel." "The @narcoticsbureau has cracked down on a major international narcotics ring, seizing 349 kg of high-grade cocaine worth Rs 1,745 crore in Mumbai. This is a trailblazing example of a bottom-to-top approach where the agency traced back a smaller consignment to net a massive network. Congratulations to Team NCB for this monumental success," he said. The seizure comes days after Salim Dola, a drug trafficker and aide of international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India from Turkiye.

Centre revises DCGI recruitment rules, raises age limit to widen pool

The Centre has raised the age limit and broadened eligibility norms for appointing the Drug Controller General of India to address a shortage of qualified candidates

Fake Mounjaro injection manufacturing racket busted in Gurugram; 2 arrested

Authorities have unearthed a racket involving the manufacturing and sale of "fake" Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injections and arrested two persons here in this connection, an official said on Monday. A nationwide alert has been issued to detect the counterfeit injections and an investigation is underway to unravel the entire network, including all those involved in this racket, Drug Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan said. He said a Health Department team raided a residential society in Sector 62 on Monday and arrested two people, including the key accused. The accused were importing raw drugs from China and manufacturing counterfeit injections of Mounjaro. The entire racket was being run from a flat in the society. The accused supplied these illegal injections through the B2B portal Indiamart, the officer alleged. Mounjarois a weekly injectable medication for type 2 diabetesthat significantly improves blood sugar control and aids weight loss. "We received information about a fake inject

Lilly backs regulatory action after fake Mounjaro seizure in Gurugram

Drugmaker highlights patient safety risks and pledges cooperation with authorities after seizure of suspected counterfeit Mounjaro products in Gurugram

Gujarat-based NGO seeks CDSCO oversight for nutraceuticals, flags concerns

A Gujarat-based NGO has urged the government to bring nutraceuticals, including fortified foods and health supplements, under the ambit of drug regulators by implementing the recommendations of a 2024 inter-ministerial committee, citing concerns over product quality and unregulated pricing. In a representation to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, the organisation 'Right to Life' said the current regulatory framework, which classifies nutraceuticals as food products under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has led to a "serious dilution" of manufacturing standards and oversight. The NGO argued that many nutraceuticals are routinely prescribed by doctors across specialties such as cardiology, orthopaedics and gynaecology as adjunct therapeutic interventions, and are dispensed through pharmacies in a manner similar to prescription drugs. "Patients have a reasonable expectation that such products meet pharmaceutical-grade quality and safety standards. However, their

Shipping bottlenecks squeeze pharma flows as Hormuz crisis impact deepens

India's pharmaceutical industry remains dependent on China for bulk drugs, particularly fermentation-based antibiotics, vitamins and intermediates

Drug regulator may retain GMP relaxations in Schedule M for select products

DTAB recommends continuing GMP exemptions under revised Schedule M for disinfectants, medical gases and gelatin capsules, citing limited relevance of strict norms

Matthew Perry death: 'Ketamine Queen' gets 15 yrs jail for supplying drugs

A federal judge on Wednesday handed down a sentence of 15 years in prison to a woman who pleaded guilty to selling actor Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him in 2023. "You're going to have to show some epic resilience," Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said to Jasveen Sangha, echoing the defendant's words earlier in the hearing about her self-improvement. Citing the unique role Sangha admitted to playing in Perry's death and her broader drug-dealing business, the judge gave the 42-year-old a sentence that will almost certainly be more than all four of her co-defendants combined. The hearing Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom was in many ways the pinnacle of the two-and-a-half year investigation and prosecution that followed the overdose death of the 54-year-old actor, whose role as Chandler Bing on NBC's 'Friends' in the 1990s and 2000s made him one of the biggest television stars of the era. Keith Morrison, Perry's stepfather and correspondent for NBC's 'Dateline', told the ju

Centre increases monitoring of weight-loss drugs, flags safety concerns

Regulators have been asked to track adverse events as India tightens oversight on popular obesity drugs amid rising demand and concerns over misuse and misleading promotions

India's 'Mounjaro brides': Weight-loss injections enter pre-wedding prep

Many marriages are still arranged by families, often accompanied by expectations around physical appearance and financial status, which is driving a growing demand for weight-loss solutions

As India's weight management market expands, misleading ads risk rises

A week before semaglutide's patent expiry, the CDSCO issued an advisory warning pharma companies against promoting prescription weight-loss drugs, banned by law

DCGI intensifies crackdown on unauthorised sale of GLP-1 weight-loss 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 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

Eli Lilly banks on tirzepatide's clinical edge as GLP-1 generics loom

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