The antibiotic category saw significant contamination with spurious versions of commonly prescribed medications.
Published Aug 27, 2025 | 3:23 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 27, 2025 | 3:23 PM
Spurious drugs
Synopsis: What makes these cases particularly alarming is that all the actual manufacturers, when contacted, confirmed they had never produced the batches in question. The companies whose brand names were illegally used on these counterfeit products explicitly denied manufacturing these specific batches, confirming they were indeed spurious drugs.
In its July alert, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) announced that eight batches of different medicines commonly used by people have been identified as spurious.
The counterfeit drugs span across multiple therapeutic categories, which include high-priced cancer medicine costing between ₹40,000 and ₹92,000 per box, along with popular blood pressure, gastric medications, and antibiotics, have been found to be spurious.
The most concerning discovery involves Venetoclax tablets (Venclyxto), an expensive cancer medication used to treat certain types of blood cancers. This high-cost therapy, which typically costs patients tens of thousands of rupees, was found to be counterfeit in batch number 1274253 with an expiry date of August 2027. The spurious batch was identified by CDSCO Labs at the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory in Chandigarh.
Among the cardiovascular medications flagged as spurious were two separate batches of Telmisartan and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets marketed under the brand name Telma H.
The first batch (18210121) was manufactured in September 2023 with a July 2026 expiry date, while the second batch (18230729) was produced in November 2023 and set to expire in October 2026. Both batches were identified by the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata.
The batches of this medication were been found to be spurious earlier too.
The antibiotic category saw significant contamination with spurious versions of commonly prescribed medications. Two different formulations of Amoxicillin and Potassium Clavulanate tablets were discovered to be fake.
The first was Clavam 625 in batch 24441030, manufactured in March 2024 and expiring in August 2025. The second was the popular Augmentin 625 DUO in batch 824D269, manufactured in September 2024 but with no clear expiry date mentioned.
A widely used gastric medication, Pantoprazole gastro-resistant tablets sold under the brand PAN 40, was also found to be spurious. The counterfeit batch 23440679 was allegedly manufactured in February 2023 with a July 2025 expiry date, indicating these fake medicines had been circulating in the market for an extended period.
The list of spurious drugs also included Thrombophob ointment containing Heparin Sodium and Benzyl Nicotinate, used for treating blood clots and inflammation.
Batch I403999, supposedly manufactured in August 2024 with a July 2027 expiry date, was identified as counterfeit.
Additionally, Nandrolone Decanoate injection (Deca-Durabolin 50), an anabolic steroid used for medical purposes, was found to be spurious in batch G401852, manufactured in July 2024 with a June 2028 expiry date.
The majority of these spurious drugs, seven out of eight batches, were identified by the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata, highlighting the laboratory’s crucial role in drug safety monitoring. The remaining case was detected by the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory in Chandigarh.
What makes these cases particularly alarming is that all the actual manufacturers, when contacted, confirmed they had never produced the batches in question.
The companies whose brand names were illegally used on these counterfeit products explicitly denied manufacturing these specific batches, confirming they were indeed spurious drugs.
“The product is purported to be spurious, however, the same is subject to outcome of investigation. The actual manufacturer has informed that the impugned batch of the product has not been manufactured by them and that it is a spurious drug,” stated CDSCO in its official alert.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
