The Directorate of Drugs Control Punjab has issued a most urgent alert, ordering the immediate suspension of the sale and use of several medicines found to be substandard and adulterated.
In an official notification, the Directorate directed all retailers, wholesalers, and distributors in possession of the affected products to halt their sale and distribution with immediate effect. They have also been instructed to promptly inform their respective area drug inspectors about existing stock levels and consumption details.
According to the statement, the Drug Testing Laboratories Punjab declared the medicines substandard and adulterated following quality assessments. Acting on these findings, the Provincial Quality Control Board ordered their immediate recall from the market.
Among the recalled products is Omnivisc 2% (HPMC) Ophthalmic Solution (5 mL), Batch No. OMV190171 (expiry January 2028) and Batch No. OMV191171 (expiry December 2028). These batches were declared substandard after failing sterility tests and were also termed misbranded under the Drugs Act, 1976.
Additionally, Cetfin 10 mg Film-Coated Tablets and Cenex 10 mg Film-Coated Tablets were declared substandard.
The Directorate further recalled several other medicines, declaring them either adulterated or substandard. These include Isobaj Injection (10 mL), Neocobal Injection, Megadip 5 mg Tablets, Kamedex Injection (1 mL), and Ascard-75 Enteric-Coated Tablets.
The Drugs Control Directorate has emphasized strict compliance with the recall order, warning that failure to do so could pose serious risks to public health.
