UP Govt orders pull back of substandard Atorvastatin medicine from govt hospitals

The state government, hence, issued an order on November 19 to recall the entire batch of the medicine (Atorvastatin) that was supplied to more than 160 government hospitals and community health centres in the state.

Lucknow: Taking cognizance of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) declaring drug samples including a popular cardiac drug, Atorvastatin as Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) in a random test, the Uttar Pradesh State Medical Supplies Corporation has banned the supply of the drug after it failed to pass quality parametres.

The state government, hence, issued an order on November 19 to recall the entire batch of the medicine that was supplied to more than 160 government hospitals and community health centres in the state.

This came after samples of Atorvastatin were drawn by the CDSCO North Zone, Ghaziabad officers for conducting the random drug sample test picked from district male hospital Agra. The samples were tested at the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) Chandigarh and presence of dissolution were found.

Also Read: CDSCO declares 36 samples of Atorvastatin, Metformin, Paracetamol, others as Not of Standard Quality

“The assessment report issued by the Chandigarh-based lab said the sample does not conform to the claim as per IP in respect to dissolution and therefore was not found to be of the standard quality, ” reads the official order as quoted by TOI.

Thereafter, a show-cause notice was issued to the Hyderabad-based supplier firm, Revat Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.

"A show-cause notice has been issued to the Hyderabad-based supplier firm. Arrangements are being made to provide additional stock to meet the high demand of the medicine, " Health Department spokesperson told IANS.

The demand for the supply of Atorvastatin is huge as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civil Hospital in Lucknow alone needs more than twenty thousand tablets of the medicine per month.

Atorvastatin, sold under the trade name Lipitor among others, is a statin medication used to prevent cardiovascular disease in those at high risk and treat abnormal lipid levels. It works by reducing the amount of cholesterol made by the liver.

Also Read: DRL recalls 80,000 plus bottles of Atorvastatin from the US due to quality concerns