New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday declared 211 drug samples tested by the Central and state drugs regulatory authorities as ‘Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)' in its monthly drug alert for October.

While the Central Drugs Laboratories identified 63 drug samples as NSQ, the State Drugs Testing Laboratories identified 148 drug samples as NSQ.

As part of routine regulatory surveillance activities, the list of NSQ and spurious drugs is displayed on the CDSCO portal on a monthly basis.

“For the month of October 2025, Central Drugs Laboratories have identified 63 Drug Samples to be Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) and State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 148 drug samples as Not of Standard Quality (NSQ),” the alert said.

Identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on failure of the drug sample in one or the other specified quality parameters.

The failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by the government laboratory, and it does not warrant any concerns on the other drug products available in the market, the health officials said.

Further, in October, “three drug samples from Bihar, two drug samples from Delhi were identified as spurious drugs, which were manufactured by unauthorised manufacturers using the brand name owned by other company,” they added. The matter is under investigation, and action will be taken as per the Act & Rules.

The action of identifying NSQ and Spurious medicines is taken regularly in collaboration with state regulators to ensure that these drugs are identified and removed from the market.

The list of NSQ drugs is prepared through the active involvement of different regulators at the central and state levels. It demonstrates the strength of a regulatory system towards the improvement of the quality of medicines used in public health.

In September, the CDSCO declared 112 drug samples tested by the Central and state drugs regulatory authorities as NSQ.

The Central Drugs Laboratories identified 52 drug samples to be NSQ, while the State Drugs Testing Laboratories identified 60 drug samples as NSQ.

--IANS

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