Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has commenced a special sample testing drive of anti malarial drugs in Mumbai as a part of its efforts to ensure quality of pharmaceutical and health care products in the market.

The FDA has initiated a campaign to test quality of all the anti malarial drugs available in the state by collecting samples from the dispensaries and manufacturing plants throughout the state, in the beginning of November. The campaign is scheduled to be conducted in November and December and the administration is planning to collect almost 80 samples of anti malarial drugs in the period, informed a top level official from FDA.

The administration will also conduct a special sample testing campaign in the Mumbai drug market, by collecting drug samples from the distributors, wholesalers, bulk suppliers and the dispensing doctors across the board in the metro. The campaign, expected to scrutinise 100 drug samples from various therapeutic segments, will help the FDA to collect detailed information on the drugs supplied in Mumbai.

"These special campaigns are designed to take account of various specialised category drugs and to ensure quality of products in the market, apart from our routine sample testing activities. A large number of dengue and malaria cases are reported in the state in the months of November and December and the inspection of anti malarial drugs will help the administration to ensure quality of the products," said the official.

In June 2008, the Administration has launched a similar special campaign to assess the quality standards of cosmetics products manufactured and marketed in the state by collecting and testing the samples from the cosmetic manufacturers across the state. The FDA has collected almost 120 samples within a period of two months in which 21 of the cosmetic products were found to be spurious or substandard. The administration is pursuing further legal actions against the suppliers of the products, he added.

The FDA is constantly tracking the pharmaceutical market in the state and launching special campaigns depending on the developments in the market, he averred.