Hyderabad, Nov.12 (NSS): Minister for Health Damodar Raja Narasimha has directed the Drug Control Authority (DCA) to take strict action against hospitals and medical stores selling medicines at inflated prices and to clamp down on those manufacturing or selling substandard and counterfeit medicines.
During a review meeting held at the DCA office in Vengalrao Nagar with officials from DCA and the Telangana Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TGMSIDC), the Minister outlined steps to ensure medication safety and pricing transparency.
During the meeting, he called for intensified inspections across pharmaceutical industries, drug manufacturing units, medical halls, and pharmacies, urging the deployment of additional drug inspectors where pharma companies are located.
The Minister emphasised that the protection of public health cannot be compromised. To facilitate complaint handling, he recommended establishing complaint cells at collectorates to address grievances related to drugs.
Raja Narasimha also proposed creating a State Vigilance Cell dedicated to receiving drug-related complaints and conducting surprise inspections.
According to DCA officials, a total of 21,639 inspections have been conducted this year, resulting in actions taken against 3,416 entities, including medical shops and manufacturing units. However, the officials noted that the State has only one drug testing lab, established in 1956, which limits testing capacity to a maximum of 400 samples per month, and they’ve managed to test only 3,255 samples so far this year.
