Drugs Control Department, Kerala

The Department of Drugs Control, Kerala was formed in the year 1961. The Kerala State Department of Drugs Control is working under the state's Health and Family Welfare Department. The Kerala Drugs Control Department regulates the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs and cosmetic products. The quality of allopathic, homeopathic, and cosmetic products across the state under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 is inspected by the Department. The duty of the Drugs Control Department is to confirm the availability of quality drugs to the public and understand that the market is free from counterfeit, spurious and substandard drugs and no drugs are sold at a price greater than the selling price marked on the container. The department has 6 Regional Offices, 11 District Offices, 4 Ayurveda wing offices and 4 drug testing laboratories (Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur). NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited drug testing laboratories are functioning at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam with an analytical capacity of 11,500 samples per annum. The establishment of one more laboratory at Kannur is in progress. There are around 25,000 licensed medical shops/dealers and pharmacies, in Kerala. Rule 51 of the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945, specifies that the Drugs Inspector shall inspect not less than once a year, all institutions licensed for the trade of drugs within the area allocated to them. At present, there are around 47 posts of drug inspectors in the State.