Hyderabad: A total of 21,639 drug inspections have been conducted statewide this year with 3,416 actions taken against pharmacies and manufacturers, said Drug Control Authority (DCA) officials during a meeting on Tuesday, November 12 with Telangana health minister Damodar Raja Narasimha.
The officials from the DCA highlighted that there is currently only one state drug-testing laboratory, established in 1956, which can process a maximum of 400 samples per month. As of 2024, only 3,255 samples have been tested.
Meanwhile, the number of medical shops has surged from 20,000 in 2014 to 45,000 in 2024. Notably, no new drug testing laboratories have been set up in the past decade, and the number of drug inspectors has remained unchanged.
To address these gaps, the minister promised four new labs and an increase in drug inspectors from 71 to 150. He further instructed random cross-district assignments for inspectors to ensure impartial monitoring, particularly of establishments selling habit-forming drugs.
Damodar Raja Narasimha further instructed officials to intensify inspections of pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies statewide, targeting those involved in selling and manufacturing substandard and counterfeit medicines.
He also ordered more drug inspectors in districts with high pharmaceutical activity and announced the formation of complaint cells at district collectorates, along with a State Vigilance Cell to handle grievances and conduct surprise inspections.
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