NEW DELHI: India’s drug regulator has flagged 159 drug samples as not of standard quality (NSQ) during routine surveillance in May, while identifying one spurious drug sample in Assam, according to the latest monthly alert issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).Of the total, 46 samples were declared NSQ by central drug laboratories and 113 by state drug testing laboratories. Drugs are categorised as NSQ when they fail one or more prescribed quality parameters during testing.CDSCO clarified that the findings relate only to the specific batches tested and do not imply that other batches of the same products available in the market are defective.The regulator also identified one spurious drug sample in Assam that was allegedly manufactured by an unauthorised entity using a brand name owned by another company. The case is under investigation and action will be taken under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, CDSCO said.The regulator said the monthly surveillance exercise is carried out in coordination with state drug authorities to identify and remove substandard and spurious medicines from the market.