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Kathmandu, November 29: The Department of Drug Administration has ordered the recall of medicines produced by two pharmaceutical companies, stating that they failed to meet quality standards. According to the department’s Director General, Narayan Dhakal, the department has instructed that medicines produced by Lomas Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. and Curex Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., Banepa, be withdrawn from the market. Lomas’s paracetamol tablet “Setofen” (Batch No. CT 2723) has been ordered to be recalled from the market.

He stated that during inspections conducted by the department, this batch of medicine was found to be of substandard quality during testing. Accordingly, the department instructed the company to halt its sale and distribution and recall it from the market as per Section 14 of the Drugs Act, 1978. Similarly, the department has issued instructions to immediately recall Curex Pharmaceuticals’ “Rexamol” after it was found to be substandard. The Rexamol (paracetamol tablet) produced by Curex, Batch No. TRX–695, was found to be of low quality and therefore ordered to be removed from the market.

Medicines collected during market monitoring were tested at the National Medicines Laboratory, where this batch was confirmed to be substandard. The department has also requested that this batch of medicine not be prescribed, sold, distributed, or used.

800 Pharmacies Suspended

The suspension of pharmacies operating outside government standards is steadily increasing. The Department of Drug Administration has suspended the licenses of 802 pharmacies that have been operating against prescribed standards over the past three years. Director General Narayan Prasad Dhakal stated that pharmacies operating in violation of standards and failing to comply with regulations were suspended during inspections.

According to him, over the past three years, the department has suspended 802 pharmacy licenses. In fiscal year 2079/80, out of a total of 3,339 pharmacy inspections, 181 pharmacies were suspended. In fiscal year 2080/81, 301 pharmacies were suspended out of 3,300 inspections. Likewise, in fiscal year 2081/82, 320 pharmacies had their licenses suspended out of 2,791 inspections.

Director General Dhakal added that issues such as pharmacy owners not being physically present, buying and selling of licenses, and one individual operating multiple pharmacies have been increasing.

People’s News Monitoring Service.