LAHORE – A routine drug-quality check turns into province-wide alert, with Punjab authorities ordering the recall of specific batches of Mecodax Injection and Cetirizine Dihydrochloride after laboratory tests flagged them as substandard or adulterated.
Pharmacies and healthcare facilities have been told to pull affected medicines from circulation, while patients have been advised to stop using the identified batches immediately.
The warning could affect pharmacies, medical stores and healthcare facilities across the region, with authorities directing the medicine supply chain to move quickly to remove the identified batches from circulation. Directorate of Drug Control, Punjab, issued Alert No. 132/2026 after the Provincial Quality Control Board ordered action based on test results from the Drug Testing Laboratories Punjab.
The medicines under recall are:
- Mecodax Injection (Mecobalamin), Batch 176 — Registration No. 065622, expiry August 2027.
- Cetirizine Dihydrochloride 10mg film-coated tablets, Batch BCT-005 — Registration No. 123852, expiry February 2027.
For patients and consumers, the message from authorities is clear: do not use these specific batches. Manufacturers, marketing authorization holders and distributors have been told to immediately begin the recall and ensure that the affected medicines are removed throughout the distribution chain.
Pharmacies, medical stores, wholesalers, distributors and healthcare facilities have also been ordered to stop dispensing the identified batches. They must report their available stock and consumption details to the relevant drug inspectors.
The authorities have gone a step further by ordering manufacturers to investigate why the medicines failed quality testing. They must conduct a root-cause analysis and submit a Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) plan to the Drug Control Department.
For anyone who may already have used the affected medicines, authorities have urged vigilance. Any adverse reaction should be reported through the Medicine Surveillance System so it can be documented and investigated.
The recall serves is reminder that even medicines already circulating in the market can be pulled from shelves when official testing raises quality concerns. For now, authorities are focusing on getting the affected batches out of circulation and determining what went wrong during their manufacture or distribution.
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