The government tried to implement this ban once before under the Section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 in 2016 in March, but was delayed due the court cases by the affected manufacturers.
A group of NGOs working for the betterment of the pharma market and logical and necessary need of medicines known as All India Drug Action Network praised the government for banning 328 FDC that is fixed-dose combination of drugs on Thursday in Delhi. This decision will help the government to prevent the near end of the pharma market called the "grave" situation. FCD has been a major reason of people being supplied with unsafe medicines from a long time.
The ministry of health has prohibited the production and the market for 328 FDC and has taken step to prohibit another six immediately. Saridon, antibiotic Lupidiclox, Panderm skin cream, combination diabetes drug Gluconorm PG and are some of the brands that will get affected with the ban.
All India Drug Action Network is happy about the ban because they believe that this ban will lead to the use of only approved and rational medicines in the country. Rational medicine refers to efficient, safe and therapeutic medicines and not a single one of the combination medicines had these characteristics. This step would not easy as a large Indian population has now been a constant market for the fixed-dose combination of drugs. Even when the ban was announced there were several pharma companies raising questions about the right that government had to implement such step.
The government tried to implement this ban once before under the Section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 in 2016 in March, but was delayed due the court cases by the affected manufacturers. In December an expert panel was formed by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board and the reports published by it stated that the 328 FDCs had no therapeutic factor and were unsafe for humans.
All India Drug Action Network has asked government to take action against the 15 FDCs that were not the part of the report issued by the expert panel. It also exclaimed that the FCDs earned more than what it showed to the government. In numeric terms the unsafe medicine market earned almost one fourth of the entire pharma market in India that is 1.3 trillion rupees.
They also made a point that they are really shocked that how unaware the Indian government was about all these medicinal disorganization within the country and demanded a review check about the medicines. This review check was also suggested by the Kokate Committee to ensure patients safety. Only then can Indian pharma system can gain respect and control.