Are you in pain, or diabetic? Beware! You will not be able to buy these medicines anymore

The Union health ministry’s decision to prohibit manufacture for sale or distribution of 328 fixed dose combinations may not see a significant impact on the industry, according to experts. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has prohibited the manufacture for sale or distribution for human use of 328 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) with immediate effect. It also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs subject to certain conditions. The ban, which is across therapy areas, is expected to have an impact of around Rs 2,000 crore, according to Daara Patel, secretary general of Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association. The total size of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is around Rs 1.18-1.2 lakh crore.

Govt bans manufacture and supply, sale of 328 FDC drugs pic.twitter.com/G2L4Y09psP

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A fixed dose medicine is a combination of two or more active ingredients in fixed dosage ratio.

According to IIFL analyst Abhishek Sharma, the ban may not have any significant impact because the brands are small.

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“This is doing more good than harm and the step is in right direction,” Sharma said, adding that this was in the offing for long and many companies have launched other variants to remain compliant.

In a notification on March 10, 2016, the central government had banned manufacture, sale and distribution of 344 FDCs.

NOTE: According to Times of India, banned FDCs include painkiller Saridon; ointment Panderm, Diabetes drug Gluconorm PG and  antibiotic Lupidiclox.