Sandoz, the generic drugs arm of Novartis of Switzerland, risks losing World Health Organisation authorisation to sell some of its antibiotics after regulators identified manufacturing problems at one of its South African factories.

Officials are poised to tell customers to stop buying products made at Sandoz’s plant in Kempton Park, Gauteng, after identifying 41 “non-compliances and deviations” from the agency’s rules on “good manufacturing practice” this year.