Even as India is fighting all out to redeem its image as a quality supplier of generic medicines across the world, as many as six pharma firms from India are facing the threat of ban in Sri Lanka for allegedly supplying sub-quality drugs, in an embarrassment to the domestic industry.

The health authorities in the island nation have ordered withdrawal of supplies from six Indian pharma companies after a high-level panel found that they had supplied sub-standard drugs to the Medical Supplies Division and asked the companies to replace them with new stocks on their own expenses or face blacklisting for two years.

The firms facing action were Virus Bio Products Ltd, Kilitch Drugs (India) Ltd, U Medica Laboratories (Pvt) Ltd, Baxter (India) Pvt Ltd, Belco Pharma, India and Mercury Laboratories Ltd. The action was initiated after a committee went through the complaints received against these firms that there were glass pieces and substance particles in the injections, according to the reports reaching here.

The authorities are reportedly making an assessment on the total value of the products under suspicion. The list of products to be immediately withdrawn and get reimbursement includes Safrotin for injections imported from Kilitch Drugs India, Hydrocortisone Sodium Succinate for injections from U Medica Laboratories, Promothazine injections from Mercury Pharma India and a particular injection from Belco Pharma. Three batches of normal saline from Baxter India, anti snake venom from Vins Bioproducts as well as all injections from Belco Pharma are to be replaced entirely due to discoloring of the liquids, reports said.

The registrations of the said companies will be suspended for two years and during that period the companies are required to provide a Good Medical Producers Report (GMP certificate) to the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. If the reports are not submitted within a period of five years, the companies will be blacklisted and their drug registration will not be renewed, it is learnt.

The reports of Sri Lankan action comes at a time when in India, both the authorities and the industry, have been waging a tough battle against the vicious instances like Chinese companies exporting fake drugs with `made in India' labels in African countries and the multinational lobbies have been spearheading campaigns to project India as a home to spurious drugs.