Government asks HC to lift the
interim stay on FDC drugs
The central government on Monday asked the Delhi High
Court to vacate the interim stay on ban on some fixed dose combinations (FDC)
medicines sold by pharma majors saying they ‘endanger patient safety’.
Defending its decision to ban 344 FDC medicines through its March 10
notification, the government in an affidavit filed before the high court said:
‘The interim order granted to the Petitioner (pharma companies) would be
against the public interest and endanger patient safety.’ ‘Their objective is
only to gain profits and the petition has been filed only to gain time and
obstruct the legitimate functions of the government of India,’ the affidavit
read. Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Monday deferred, to March 28, the
hearing on pleas of pharma companies challenging the ban which means some of
popular durgs such as Pfizer’s Corex cough syrup, Reckitt’s D’Cold and
P&G’s Vicks Action 500 extra will be available to consumer till next
Monday. Justice R.S. Endlaw also directed the government to provide the experts
committee report, which recommended the ban, to all the pharma companies that
are in court against the ban.
The high court had last week stayed operation of the ban
on some FDC drugs of around 30 pharma companies including Cipla, Procter and
Gamble (P&G), Pfizer, Glenmark, Glaxo Smithkline, Abbott Healthcare,
Reckitt Benckiser, Piramal, etc. Justice Ednlaw had asked the government not to
take coercive steps against these companies till March 21. In its affidavit,
the government said FDC medicines are ‘new drugs’ and require fresh licence
from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). It said licences for FDCs were
obtained from state authorities without seeking DCGI approval between 1988 to
2012. A report of Parliamentary Standing Committee on health had said
unauthorised FDCs that posed a risk to people need to be withdrawn immediately,
the government said
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
22.03.2016
Quality is never an accident; it is
always the result of intelligent effort
John Ruskin
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