Mobile testing unit set to check drug’s quality

In an attempt to weed out spurious drugs even from the remotest corners of the country, Drug Controller General of India ( DCGI) said on Tuesday that mobile drug testing laboratories would be sent across India to test the quality of drugs.

“We will use mobile testing labs, which will house equipment for testing of medicines even in remote areas,” Dr G. N. Singh, Drug Controller General of India, said on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a seminar on Network of Official Medicines Control Laboratories here.

Experts feel mobile testing labs could be particularly helpful in countryside because sub- standard drugs are mostly found to be sold in rural areas. A pilot project of mobile drug testing labs is already on in Gujarat and it will be rolled out in Delhi, UP, AP, Telangana, J& K and Northeastern states in the next two to three years.

The mobile van will have handy, non- destructive equipment sourced from Germany and each unit will cost ` 1 crore each.