CHENNAI: The union health ministry which is supposed to inspect all drugs manufacturing units across the country every three years has not conducted these periodical inspections even once in the last six years, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Friday, adding that the state has flagged the matter with the union government.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Subramanian said the drug inspectors attached to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) were supposed to inspect all drugs manufacturing units all over the country once in every three years, but it was not done in the last six years. This has been raised with the union health ministry, he added.
According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, 2024, the drug inspectors were supposed to carry out 1,00,800 inspections in 2020-2021, but only 62,358 inspections were actually carried out, resulting in a 38 per cent shortfall in inspections.
Similarly in 2020-2021, 18,816 drug samples were supposed to be lifted by the drug inspectors for quality testing, but only 8,604 samples were actually lifted. That is, there is a 54 per cent shortfall in the lifting of samples.
When reporters cited this CAG report, which reported shortage by at least 40 per cent in inspections in Tamil Nadu since 2016, the minister claimed that opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has to reply for this as it occured during his tenure as the chief minister.
After 2021, the state drug control department carried out periodical inspections and only the Sresan Pharmaceutical unit — where the Coldrif cough syrup was manufactured — was not inspected in the last one year. Hence, action was taken against the senior drug insepctors, who were supposed to have done the inspections, the minister said.
He added that notices will also be issued to the drug control commissioner in this regard, and action will be taken for not checking whether the inspection was conducted at Sresan Pharmaceutical company or not. After the Coldrif syrup case, inspections are being conducted at all 397 pharmaceutical manufacturing units in the state, he said.
The minister further pointed out that from Tamil Nadu, drugs are exported to various countries by around 100 pharmaceutical companies worth around Rs 12-Rs 15 crore. Hence, people should act responsibly and not politicise coldrif issue as it could affect the exports from the state, he added.
