Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : March 16, 2016 11:13 AM IST
After Corex, the government of India has banned the sale of another fixed dosage combination drug Vicks Action 500. Vicks Action 500 is manufactured by P&G, and its sale has been discontinued immediately.
P&G said that Vicks Action 500 Extra has the same fixed dose combination and gets covered under this notification, and they stopped the manufacture and of all SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) of Vicks Action 500 Extra with immediate effect.
Pfizer, which manufactures Corex, has said in a BSE filing that the government has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs with a fixed dose combination of Paracetamol, Phenylephrine and caffeine with immediate effect. Other commonly used cough syrup called Phensedyl manufactured by Abbott Healthcare also contains this drug combination and has been banned. However, the company has called the government's decision to ban certain fixed dosage drugs that have been already approved as a unilateral approach. Their spokesperson has also said that they are evaluating the notification and are exploring available options.
Pfizer too in the BSE filing stated that this ban can cost the company dearly and will have an adverse effect on the revenue and the profitability of the company.
The government has issued a ban on 344 combination drugs under the section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics act. Almost all the drugs have been banned on the basis that they have no therapeutic justification, and there are safer options available. However, the Gazette nowhere mentions specific health risks associated with these combination drugs. Apart from the above-mentioned combinations, 344 drugs combinations include Nimesulide + Tizanidine, Nimesulide + Diclofenac , Nimesulide + Cetirizine + Caffeine, Nimesulide + Cetirizine + Caffeine, Paracetamol + Cetirizine + Caffeine, Diclofenac + Tramadol + Chlorzoxazonee and more.
So, check the label and ensure the drug that your doctors has prescribed is not in this list of banned drugs.
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