Med agency asks hosps to recall batch of spurious BP drug
Times of India | 11 March 2025
Kolkata: In a continuing move to weed out spurious drugs from circulation, the directorate of drugs control (DDC), West Bengal has asked all hospitals and other stakeholders to recall a certain batch of Telma-AM. This step comes after the state got a response from the original manufacturer, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, that the particular batch is a copy of the original products.
Doctors said Telma-AM is a combination of Telmisartan and Amlodipine, commonly used to manage hypertension. This drug's particular batch was listed among the NSQ (Not of Standard Quality) drugs by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation recently after collating the testing data from Bengal.
"This is commonly used combination drug for hypertension, and if the drug does not conform to the quality, it could have a disastrous impact as uncontrolled hypertension can lead to consequences like stroke," said internal medicine specialist, Arindam Biswas of RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences.
The original manufacturer replied to the state govt that the particular batch 05240367 of the drug, with a manufacturing month of March 2024 and expiry of Feb, was copied from the original product.
"It is quite concerning that spurious drugs have become a menace across the country. While consumers should be careful to look at the packaging, including the QR code, the regulatory bodies should be more stringent in detecting such drugs," said professor of Pharmacology Subhrojyoti Bhowmick of KPC Medical College.
"We have already asked all our members by our official circular to stop the sale of this product containing the batch number as mentioned in the order and also return the same to their respective wholesalers if the same batch is lying with them," said Shanka Roy Choudhury, spokesperson of Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association. The state DDC said even the result of scanning the QR code of this medicine belonging to the particular batch says ‘could not be verified.' Probe is on. A case was registered in Uluberia court.
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