Shimona Sharma
The North News
Chandigarh, June 27
Karnataka’s Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao, has sounded an urgent public health warning after 15 pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, including a popular paracetamol brand, were declared substandard by the state’s Drugs Testing Laboratory.
Among the flagged products are Compound Sodium Lactate Injection IP (Ringer-Lactate solution) manufactured by Ultra Laboratories and Tam Bran Pharmaceuticals (Batch No: KI124110), Pomol-650 Paracetamol Tablets IP 650 mg by Aban Pharmaceuticals (Batch No: 13-4536), and MITO Q7 Syrup by Bion Therapeutics India (Batch No: CHS-40170).
The minister issued a strongly worded advisory on social media, urging chemists, doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes to immediately stop stocking, selling, or using the listed products.
“If you have any stock, inform your local Drugs Inspector or Assistant Drugs Controller at once,” Rao posted on Twitter, adding, “Your safety is our top priority. Please do not use these listed drugs or cosmetics.”
The warning follows testing conducted by the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration, which found the products to be “Not of Standard Quality.” Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of the affected drugs reaching other states, raising concerns about wider distribution networks.
In response to the findings, the Health Department is expected to issue further guidelines and initiate enforcement actions. The minister’s statement reflects growing anxiety over the integrity of pharmaceutical supplies not just in Karnataka, but potentially across other parts of India.
Public health experts have said the alert should serve as a wake-up call for regulators in other states to enhance drug surveillance and quality testing procedures.
