Archive · 8 Aug 2026
US FDA hails Andhra Pradesh pharma, urges stricter quality checks
Imagine you take medicine when you are sick.
That medicine has to be safe and work properly.
Specially trained people called drug inspectors check the factories where medicines are made.
The FDA is a very important American group that makes sure medicines are safe.
The FDA's leader in India came to a city called Vijayawada.
He talked to drug inspectors about checking medicine factories very carefully.
Many medicine factories in Andhra Pradesh are allowed to sell medicines to the United States.
The FDA leader said inspectors sometimes find mistakes in how factories work.
Andhra Pradesh's health secretary said bad medicines will never be allowed.
Everyone agreed that careful checking keeps patients healthy.
Gregory Smith, Country Director of the US FDA India Office, addressed a workshop on assuring quality medicines held in Vijayawada on Friday.
More than half of the drug manufacturing facilities under US FDA oversight are located outside the United States, making international regulatory cooperation crucial.
Andhra Pradesh has 119 pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities with US FDA approval, reflecting the state's global significance in medicine exports.
Smith said inspections commonly find inadequate procedures, incomplete investigations of deviations, and weaknesses in laboratory controls that can affect drug quality.
Health secretary G Veerapandian said the government backs quality manufacturers with a 'zero tolerance' approach to substandard drugs.
- Who
- Gregory Smith, Country Director of the US FDA India Office, Andhra Pradesh health secretary G Veerapandian, and other drug regulatory officials.
- What
- A workshop on 'Assuring Quality Medicines – Scientific Approach to Regulation, Standards and Inspections,' where the US FDA praised Andhra Pradesh's pharmaceutical strength but called for stricter quality checks.
- When
- Friday (exact date not stated in the report).
- Where
- Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
- Why
- To strengthen scientific practices, international cooperation and quality inspection systems to protect public health, since medicines made in Andhra Pradesh are used across the world.
- Key speaker
- Gregory Smith, Country Director, US FDA India Office
- Event
- Workshop on 'Assuring Quality Medicines – Scientific Approach to Regulation, Standards and Inspections'
- Organizers
- Andhra Pradesh Drugs Control Administration (AP DCA), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), All India Drugs Control Officers Confederation (AIDCOC)
- FDA-approved pharma facilities in Andhra Pradesh
- 119
- FDA oversight facilities outside the US
- More than half of all facilities under US FDA oversight
- Location
- Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
- Government stance
- Zero tolerance towards substandard drugs; simpler regulations for ease of doing business
- Regulatory focus
- Effective implementation of Revised Schedule M