{"id":174086,"date":"2025-12-08T18:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T18:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/174086\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T18:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T18:54:17","slug":"kerala-bans-17-substandard-medicines-in-major-crackdown-on-unsafe-drugs-the-south-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/174086\/","title":{"rendered":"Kerala bans 17 substandard medicines in major crackdown on unsafe drugs – The South First"},"content":{"rendered":"

The action forms part of a wider enforcement drive by the state\u2019s Drugs Control Department, which has stepped up surveillance and inspections across Kerala. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Published Dec 07, 2025 | 3:16 PM \u268a Updated Dec 07, 2025 | 3:16 PM<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\"Banned<\/p>\n

Banned medicines. (Representative image)<\/p>\n

Synopsis: Kerala\u2019s health authorities ordered an immediate ban on 17 pharmaceutical products found to be of substandard quality. The move follows laboratory tests that confirmed the medicines failed to meet prescribed safety and quality standards, posing potential risks to public health.<\/p>\n

Kerala\u2019s health authorities have intensified their campaign against unsafe and counterfeit medicines, ordering an immediate ban on 17 pharmaceutical products found to be of substandard quality.<\/p>\n

The move follows laboratory tests that confirmed the medicines failed to meet prescribed safety and quality standards, posing potential risks to public health.<\/p>\n

The banned list includes 10 commonly used allopathic medicines and seven traditional Ayurvedic fermented formulations (arishtam). Pharmacies, hospitals, and the general public have been instructed to stop selling, stocking, and consuming these products with immediate effect.<\/p>\n

Also Read:\u00a0Only Schedule M-compliant firms to supply drugs to Karnataka govt hospitals<\/a>
\nStronger enforcement<\/p>\n

The action forms part of a wider enforcement drive by the state\u2019s Drugs Control Department, which has stepped up surveillance and inspections across Kerala. In recent weeks, authorities seized fake asthma inhalers valued at approximately \u20b92 lakh and initiated regulatory action against pharmaceutical firms such as Aswas Pharma and Med World Pharma.<\/p>\n

Officials said the latest ban reflects a zero-tolerance approach towards counterfeit, spurious, and low-quality medicines in the state.<\/p>\n

Banned ayurvedic products from two manufacturers<\/p>\n

All seven banned Ayurvedic products were manufactured by two units based in Karunagappally in the Kollam district \u2014 Bala Herbals and Shiva Ayurvedic Pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n

These arishtams are fermented herbal preparations traditionally used for a wide range of health conditions.<\/p>\n

List of Prohibited Ayurvedic Products<\/p>\n

Amritarishtam\u2013 Batch 0110
\nKanakasavam \u2013 Batch 0114
\nAshwagandharishtam \u2013 Batch 0111
\nUsirasavam\u2013 Batch 0117
\nKudajarishtam \u2013 Batch 0113
\nAbhayarishtam \u2013 Batch 0109
\nAshokarishtam \u2013 Batch 0220<\/p>\n

These formulations are commonly used for issues such as poor digestion, respiratory complaints, stress, diarrhoea, constipation, and menstrual disorders. However, quality testing found these particular batches to be below acceptable standards.<\/p>\n

Popular allopathic medicines found to be substandard<\/p>\n

Ten widely used allopathic medicines were also banned after failing quality checks. These drugs are prescribed for common conditions such as acidity, allergies, diabetes, pain, heart disease, calcium deficiency, and bacterial infections.<\/p>\n

List of banned allopathic medicines<\/p>\n

Rabeprazole Sodium Tablets IP 20 mg (Torab)\u2013 Batch T25.018
\nMontelukast + Levocetirizine Tablets (Lecet-M) \u2013 Batch LCM-5061
\nGlimepiride Tablets IP 2 mg\u2013 Batch GL 4142
\nRanitidine Oral Solution IP (Raani Drops)\u2013 Batch SR-017
\nAceclofenac + Paracetamol Tablets (Richnac-P) \u2013 Batch GT16375A
\nCyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup (Hepsandin Syrup) \u2013 Batch SR-086
\nClopidogrel + Aspirin Tablets (Clopidomed A-150)\u2013 Batch T250139
\nCalcium + Vitamin D3 Tablets IP \u2013 Batch T572514
\nClopidogrel + Aspirin Tablets IP\u2013 Batch GT250375
\nParacetamol + Tramadol Tablets (Tracet) \u2013 Batch LBHK25001
\nCiprofloxacin Tablets IP 500 mg (Ciprodac-500) \u2013 Batch JKBD24080<\/p>\n

These medicines are widely prescribed for ulcers, asthma and allergies, diabetes management, fever and pain relief, heart disease prevention, bone health, and bacterial infections.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Kerala bans several substandard drugs<\/a>
\nPublic advisory and next steps<\/p>\n

Health authorities have urged chemists, hospitals, and patients to immediately discontinue the sale and use of the listed batches. The public has been advised to check medicine labels carefully and report any continued sale of the prohibited products to the Drugs Control Department.<\/p>\n

Officials said inspections and sample testing will continue across the state as part of Kerala\u2019s broader strategy to eliminate counterfeit and unsafe medicines from the supply chain.<\/p>\n

The department reiterated that patient safety remains its top priority and warned of strict legal action against those who violate the ban.<\/p>\n

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The action forms part of a wider enforcement drive by the state\u2019s Drugs Control Department, which has stepped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-174086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}