Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Hasty approval

This refers to the timely editorial “An unhealthy practice” (Nov. 13) on the clearance of letrozole in the treatment of female infertility. The hasty approval granted by the Indian Drugs Controller-General goes to prove that in our country, market considerations are more important than human safety. The manufacturers promoted the drug for financial gain and some doctors prescribed it in the hope of improving the number of successful conceptions. Women undergoing infertility treatment want to conceive “at any cost” and this desperation has encouraged the use of letrozole.

Unfortunately, some lessons are never learnt — the Thalidomide tragedy of 1961 is a landmark in pharmaco-toxicology. Promoted aggressively in 1957 as a “safe hypnotic,” it was prescribed for pregnant women to control morning sickness. By the time its teratogenic potential was identified, more than 10,000 deformed children with Phocomelia (seal limbs) were born. The medical fraternity should unite against drugs which enter the market without sufficient testing and abstain from prescribing them. All efforts, including legal, should be made to reverse the unscientific decision of the DCGI on letrozole.

Dr. S. Sree Rekha,

In India, most of the patients are unaware of the drugs they have been prescribed. This is a very pathetic situation as it makes them unwitting guinea pigs for clinical trials.

Awareness among drug users is important if harmful drugs are to be eliminated from the market. The contraindications are clearly written in the pamphlets attached with the medicines. So, the need of the hour is consumer awareness.

A. Murugan,

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