The government has prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of 329 Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs for human use with immediate effect from 12 th September 2018. The health ministry said that the decision to ban these drugs was taken after the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) stated that there is no therapeutic justification for these ingredients and may involve health risk to humans. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier banned 344 FDCs under section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act in 2017. Later, five more FDCs were added to the list which included popular cough syrups, painkillers, and cold medication.
This move will likely affect over 6,000 medicine brands worth about Rs 25,000 crore across the country. According to the technical body, there is no need to expose the patients to that many ingredients and increase the risk of adverse effects. The…
