The health ministry on Wednesday notified a ban on 328 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs on safety grounds.
The ban follows the recommendation of the drug technical advisory board (DTAB). The manufacture and sale of six FDCs will be restricted. These include anti-diabetic drugs, antibiotics, and analgesics.
The DTAB had in June originally recommended against 349 drugs, but 15 drugs, approved prior to 1988, have been kept outside the purview of the ban. This follows a Supreme Court (SC) order last week, which restrained the government from banning those 15 drugs. The 15 drugs, which include cough and cold medicines Phensedyl