Saridon, 327 other combination drugs banned to avoid health risk

New Delhi: The health ministry had banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of 328 fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) drugs for human use with immediate effect to stop their “illegal use”.

The manufacture and sale of six other FDCs have been restricted.

The ban follows the recommendation of the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) which said in a report that taking the 328 FDCs would be a health risk.

Painkiller Saridon and skin cream Panderm are among the roughly 6,000 brands whose manufacture, sale and distribution have been immediately banned, reports said.

In March 2016, the government banned 344 FDCs and later added six more to the list acting on Chandrasekhar Kokate Committee report submitted in 2015. However, the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing those drugs challenged the move in courts.

The Supreme Court in December 2017 asked the matter to be ascertained by the DTAB. In its report, the drug advisory body recommended continuing the ban on those drugs saying that there was no therapeutic justification for the ingredients in the 328 FDCs.

According to reports, most firms have claimed that they have discontinued their FDCs or have little stock left with them or changed the combination.