The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has started collection of samples in 15 categories of drugs including antibiotics as a part of a survey on spurious and not-of-standard (NoS) drugs being conducted in collaboration with Indian Statistical Institute and National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO).

This is followed by the conclusion of the training programme recently of all the stakeholders like NGOs, pharma cos, medical representatives, hospitals, consumer representatives, chemist and druggist etc. for broader results.

An official associated with the development informed that around 1000 drug inspectors from across the country has been trained for the pan-India initiative. It is understood that the government is in the last leg of finalising the modalities to train the stakeholders to effectively handle the mammoth task expertly.

It is a pan-India project in which drug samples would be drawn from healthcare institutions and retail pharmacies across the country to assess the quality of drugs available to the common man. For the survey, the NSSO has already started collecting basic information. This will be followed by collection of samples, analysis of the samples and drafting of the final report.

Earlier, a survey to assess the extent of spurious drugs in the country was conducted in the year 2009 by the ministry of health, which revealed that the extent of drugs found spurious was 0.046 per cent only.

According to an official associated with the development, "Collection of samples will start in the coming two to three months time. Dr Surinder Singh, director, National Institute of Biologicals (NIB), Noida, is the chairman of the committee conducting the survey. This broad-based survey would help in identifying the geographical areas where spurious drugs are available so that a focussed monitoring is done by the concerned authorities in these areas for eliminating the menace of spurious drugs."

The NSSO has asked the state governments to provide information to arrive at a statistical design for the survey. It is collecting information such as the number of retail outlets (district-wise); information regarding the maximum prescription of drugs under each of the 15 category including their trade name district wise; number of civil hospital stores (district-wise); number of central medical store (state-wise); and number of Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensaries throughout the country.

Based on the survey of 2009 and data provided by ISI, Hyderabad, 24,136 samples of 62 brands of drugs belonging to 9 therapeutic categories were collected. The survey covered around 30 manufacturers from over 100 different pharmacy outlets in different regions of the country located in metros, big cities, district, towns and villages.

Interestingly, this will be done through active involvement and support of the CDSCO and the state drug controllers, wherein they will train and help the stakeholders in understanding and contributing to the countries first the meticulously planned survey. The CDSCO formulated the survey plan in consultation with NIB for conducting a scientific study on the extent of problems of spurious drugs and drugs not of standard quality (NSQ).

Through this joint effort between the state and the centre, India will now be able to project a clear statistics on spurious drugs, thus clarifying India's stand on the same with scientific evidence.