Kathmandu: Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration (DDA) has issued an urgent directive for the immediate recall of a specific batch of paracetamol tablets produced by Lomus Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, marking the third such ban on the company’s popular pain reliever brand Cetophen.
The affected batch, numbered CT 2723, has been deemed substandard following rigorous testing at the National Drug Laboratory, prompting authorities to halt all sales, distribution, and use to safeguard public health.
Under Section 14 of the Drug Act 2035, the DDA has invoked its powers to stop the circulation of these 500mg tablets, which were manufactured in June 2023 and carry an expiry date of May 2026—meaning roughly six months remain before they would naturally expire. Despite this, the batch has been freely available in pharmacies and markets for about two and a half years, raising concerns about prolonged exposure to potentially ineffective medication.
The department’s move comes after routine market surveillance where samples from various companies were collected and analyzed, revealing that this paracetamol variant failed to meet essential quality benchmarks.
In a public advisory, the DDA has called on pharmacies, wholesalers, healthcare providers, and consumers to immediately withdraw any stock bearing the CT 2723 batch number and refrain from recommending or using it. This recall underscores a broader push by regulators to enforce stricter quality controls amid a rising number of substandard drug detections in Nepal.
Just last month, on October 12, the department issued a similar notice for another batch, highlighting ongoing scrutiny of pharmaceutical manufacturing standards.
Lomus Pharmaceuticals, a prominent player in Nepal’s domestic drug industry since its founding in 1986, now faces intensified oversight. The company is led by Chairman Pradeep Jung Pandey, a former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), with family involvement including his sons in its operations.
While Lomus has built a reputation for affordable generics, repeated quality lapses—such as prior recalls in early 2024 and February 2025 for other substandard products—could erode consumer trust and prompt further regulatory action.
This incident adds to a troubling trend in Nepal’s pharmaceutical sector, where laboratory tests last fiscal year flagged nearly 11 percent of sampled drugs as below standard. Experts advocate for enhanced investment in testing infrastructure and real-time monitoring to align with global norms set by the World Health Organization.
Consumers are urged to check batch details on their medications and consult pharmacists or the DDA’s hotline for verification, emphasizing that paracetamol remains a vital over-the-counter remedy when sourced from compliant manufacturers. As investigations continue, the DDA vows to accelerate recalls and impose penalties to prevent future risks.
Comment Here