Ministry of Health Reveals 93 Medicines Fail Quality Tests

The Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health states that 93 types of medicines used in government hospitals have failed quality certification tests so far this year.

Among these substandard medicines, 42 originated from India, marking the highest contribution from a single source.

Other failed samples include 25 locally manufactured drugs, as well as medicines imported from China, Pakistan, Japan, and Bangladesh.

The Ministry of Health has taken immediate steps to withdraw, temporarily suspend, or completely halt the use of certain batches of drugs identified as substandard.

Significant attention has been drawn to the 'Ondansetron' injection, used to control vomiting, due to the deaths of two patients after receiving the drug.

Scientific investigations are currently underway to confirm whether these deaths were caused by complications arising from the drug.

According to Ministry of Health reports, 600 instances of drug quality failures have been reported in the country from 2017 to date.

The highest number of failures occurred in 2019, with 96 instances. The recorded number of failures in 2024 is 83.

To prevent patients' lives from being endangered by substandard medicines, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is working to tighten testing procedures.