CDSCO Flags Besto-Cof Cough Syrup as Spurious, Raipur Drug Lab Claims Batch Not Made by Listed Firm

New Delhi: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has issued a warning after the State Drug Testing Laboratory (SDTL) in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, flagged the widely sold ‘Besto-Cof Dry Cough Formula’ as potentially spurious. The batch details are currently under investigation, with the manufacturing and expiry dates unavailable.

According to the report, the manufacturer listed on the product label is under scrutiny, and the firm claiming to produce the drug has confirmed that the batch in question was not manufactured by them, strongly suggesting it is a spurious product. The product was identified during routine testing, and its sale and distribution pose a potential risk to consumers.

Besto-Cof Dry Cough Formula is a syrup used to relieve dry, hacking coughs and symptoms of the common cold and allergies. It is manufactured by Bestochem Formulations India Ltd. The medication combines a cough suppressant, an antihistamine, and a decongestant.

In accordance with the Drug and Cosmetic Act, a drug shall be deemed to be spurious—

(a) if it is imported under a name which belongs to another drug; or

(b) if it is an imitation of, or a substitute for, another drug or resembles another drug in a manner likely to deceive or bears upon it or upon its label or container the name of another drug unless it is plainly and conspicuously marked so as to reveal its true character and its lack of identity with such other drug; or

(c) if the label or the container bears the name of an individual or company purporting to be the manufacturer of the drug, which individual or company is fictitious or does not exist; or

(d) if it has been substituted wholly or in part by another drug or substance; or

(e) if it purports to be the product of a manufacturer of whom it is not truly a product

The term “Spurious Drug” has been defined under Section 17-B of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940