The health minister of Karnataka, Dinesh Gundu Rao, revealed that nine injectable drugs failed sterility tests conducted in Karnataka’s government labs from 1 January 2025 to 16 February 2025. These injectable drugs were manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies in other states.
With growing concerns regarding the increased sales of contaminated injectable drugs, Rao, in his letter to JP Nadda, Union Health Minister, requested the establishment of a system to share alerts on drugs that failed these tests.
A list of contaminated drugs that failed the tests that were mentioned in the letter includes:
Metronidazole injection (Pharma Impex Laboratories Pvt Ltd)
Diclofenac Sodium Injection (Alpa Laboratories Ltd)
Dextrose injection (Rusoma Laboratories Pvt Ltd)
Metronidazole (IHL Lifesciences Pvt Ltd)
Frusemide (Paksons Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd)
Piperacillin and Tazobactam for IP (Modern Laboratories)
Calcium Gluconate and Ondansetron (MS. Regain Laboratories)
Atropine Sulphate (Martin and Brown Bio-sciences Pvt Ltd)
The injectables manufactured in West Bengal by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals, which led to the death of 5 young mothers in Ballari district, were not included in the list. He also mentioned that health officials in Karnataka were instructed to ensure that the aforementioned drugs were not being sold and that most of them are likely being sold in other states.
Injectables, as you are aware, are used in acute care. Given the ‘life or death’ consequences for patients being administered these contaminated drugs, I request you to ensure all products sold by these companies are withdrawn from across India, and these companies are not allowed to sell any drugs until they are inspected by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization for compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices.Dinesh Gundu Rao, Health Minister of Karnataka
He added that the systems must not only alert doctors, pharmacists, and patients about contaminated drugs, but manufacturers must also be legally required to share the sales records in order to seize such drugs before they are given to patients.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Nethra Suryanarayanan/MSM)