The Hindu Business Line : Drug regulator to expand survey on fake medicines

New Delhi, May 21 The Drug Controller General of India plans to widen the survey to map the prevalence of counterfeit drugs in the country with larger number of samples. The regulator, which is examining 26,500 samples of 62 top-selling medicines, is planning to pick up one lakh samples for the next survey. The first report on counterfeit drugs is expected in June.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Surinder Singh, DGCI, said, “We want to put to rest all the speculation about the extent of fake drugs prevalent in the Indian market. As of now there are various non-government agencies giving their own estimates. We were planning to release the first report by June. We are also looking at making this a regular activity for which we will collect more number of samples. Our objective is to take the sample size to one lakh.”

The objective of the survey, designed by the DCGI’s office, is to cover the drug market as widely as possible. The first-of-its-kind survey is expected to throw up an official estimate of the prevalence of spurious drugs in the country. Estimates by non-governmental agencies put the prevalence of counterfeit drugs anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 30 per cent of the Rs 34,000-crore market. The DGCI has roped in the Hyderabad-based Indian Statistical Institute to examine the samples.

A study in 2007 funded by the World Health Organisation and carried out by global policy think tank International Pharmaceutical Federation found three per cent of the samples that it picked up in India to be counterfeit.

The survey picked up 10,000 samples of 56 top selling drugs, as ranked by market researcher ORG IMS. Of the sample collected, mimicking packaging and brand names were also included under the counterfeit category.

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