Courtesy Hiru News

The Medical Supplies Division of the Health Ministry reveals that 93 types of medicines used in government hospitals failed quality assurance tests so far this year.

Among these substandard items, 42 originate from India, marking the highest contribution from a single source.

The remaining failed samples include 25 locally manufactured drugs, along with products from China, Pakistan, Japan, and Bangladesh.

The Health Ministry took immediate action to withdraw, temporarily suspend, or completely halt the use of several batches identified as poor quality.

Significant concern surrounds the ‘Ondansetron’ injection, used to control vomiting, following the deaths of two patients.

Scientific investigations are currently underway to confirm if these fatalities resulted from complications related to the drug.

Health Ministry records show 600 instances of drug quality failure in the country since 2017.

The highest number of failures occurred in 2019 with 96 cases, while 2024 saw 83 reported incidents.

The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) continues to tighten inspection protocols to prevent substandard medication from endangering patient lives.