The Hindu : New Delhi News : Experts demand ban on all illegal drug combinations

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Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
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New Delhi

Experts demand ban on all illegal drug combinations

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

DCGI prepares a list of 1,067 brands for taking ‘necessary action’; circulated to State-level drug controllers

NEW DELHI: Health experts have demanded that the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) should exercise his powers and ban all illegal drug combinations floating around in the Indian drugs market including those that have entered without getting marketing approval.

“Also the State drugs controller in several cases have exceeded their authority by issuing manufacturing license without prior mandatory approval by the DCGI allowing the condition to worsen for drug users across the country,” said former drug expert with the World Health Organisation C. M. Gulati.

The demand has come after earlier this year the Drugs Controller General of India had prepared a list of 1,067 brands of drug combinations and circulated it to the State-level drug controllers requesting them “to take necessary action”.

“Stop manufacture”

Said Drugs Controller General of India, M. Venkateswarulu: “We had advised the State Drug Controllers across the country to stop manufacture of 294 drug combinations.”

Asking the DCGI to re-look at the list and take more stringent action against illegal drug combinations in the Indian market, Dr. Gulati added that the list of illegal brands previously prepared and circulated by the DCGI is grossly incomplete.

Unapproved combinations

“The DCGI had circulated a list of 294 unapproved combinations based on ingredients so that State drug controllers could also take action. One would expect at least this list to be exhaustive and complete but for unknown reasons several offending combinations have been left out,” he pointed out.

As per estimates, at least one-fourth, if not more, of these brands fall in the category of unapproved products with an annual sale of over Rs.8,000 crore in the country.

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