New Delhi: Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration has banned imports from 16 Indian pharmaceutical companies on grounds that they do not comply with the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s mandatory ‘good manufacturing practices’, Kathmandu Post reported.
Haridwar-based Divya Pharmacy, a company promoted by Baba Ramdev, is also on the list of banned companies. The others include Radiant Parenterals Ltd., Mercury Laboratories Ltd., Alliance Biotech, Captab Biotec, Aglowmed Limited, Zee Laboratories Ltd, Daffodils Pharmaceuticals Ltd, GLS pharma Limited, Unijules Life Science Ltd, Concept Pharmaceuticals Pvt, Shree Anand Life Sciences Ltd, IPCA laboratories Ltd, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Dial Pharmaceuticals, Aglowmed Limited, and Mackur laboratories Ltd.
“After inspection of the manufacturing facilities of the pharmaceutical companies, which had applied to export their products to our country, we have published the list of the companies that do not comply with the World Health Organization’s good manufacturing practices,” Kathmandu Post quoted Santosh K.C., a spokesperson with the drug regulatory body, as saying.
Nepal’s drug regulatory body sent its drug inspectors to India in April and July this year to visit the manufacturing facilities of pharma companies which had applied for permission to import their products to Nepal.
Those firms that figure on the said list cannot import their medicines to Nepal. The WHO’s ‘good manufacturing practices’ are part of a system that ensures that products are constantly produced and controlled as per the prescribed set of quality standards. They are put in place to minimise risks involved in any pharmaceutical production that cannot be eliminated through testing the final product.
According to the authorities, among the list of banned Indian companies, some are already registered with the drug regulatory body, and some are new. Some of them have been found not complying with the regulatory requirements, while others do not meet the WHO’s prescribed ‘good manufacturing practices’. Among the banned companies, some of them are known to produce products/medicines used in critical care, dental cartridges, and vaccines.