ISLAMABAD – The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has issued a public safety alert after laboratory tests confirmed that four drug products being illegally marketed in the country are spurious and unregistered, posing a serious threat to public health.
According to findings from the Drug Water and Food Testing Laboratory in Gilgit-Baltistan, the following drug products have been declared spurious and substandard* under the Drugs Act, 1976:
1. Missron Tablet (Batch No. 48022) purportedly manufactured by M/s Fegga Pharmaceutical, Karachi.
2. Quttefol OD Tablets (Batch No. QL-001) purportedly manufactured by M/s Adcok Pharmaceuticals, Lahore.
3. Depasrone Tablets (Batch No. 2406) purportedly manufactured by M/s Alpine Laboratories, Karachi.
4. Dropha Tablets (Batch No. DRP-0004) purportedly manufactured by M/s Himax Pharmaceutical, Karachi.
DRAP emphasized that these drugs are being produced and distributed by entities that are not registered or licensed under its authority, which means they have bypassed all regulatory checks for quality, safety, and efficacy.
Testing revealed that some of these products lack active pharmaceutical ingredients entirely, rendering them medically useless and potentially dangerous.
“The use of such falsified and unregulated products could result in treatment failure, disease progression, or even life-threatening outcomes,” DRAP warned.
The Regulatory Field Force*has been instructed to launch surveillance and confiscate stocks of these unregistered and falsified medicines. Pharmacists, chemists, distributors, and healthcare providers have been directed to immediately check their inventories and share supplier information with relevant authorities.
Consumers are strongly advised not to use any of the listed drug products. If anyone has used them and experienced side effects or health issues, they should immediately consult a healthcare provider and report the incident to DRAP or the National Pharmacovigilance Centre through official reporting channels.
