Public health activists lauded the government move to ban over 300 drug formulations due to “lack of therapeutic justification” but also expressed disappointment at the courts providing injunctions against the order.

Several pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer India, Abbott India, Glenmark , moved the courts against the ban that was effective on over 344 fixed drug combinations (FDCs have two or more active ingredients in fixed ratios) and got relief from the courts.

Impact on brands

The move affects several thousand brands with estimated annual sales of over ₹3,500 crore.

Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said the courts need to understand the public health concerns behind these drugs. “Courts need to be cognizant of the public health impact of continued marketing of thousands of irrational FDCs. Companies have complained that their profits will be jeopardised.

The pharmaceutical industry reported a profit in excess of ₹40,000 crore in 2015-16, well in excess of the total Central outlay for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Surely concerns need to prevail over attempts to profit at the expense of public health,” the organisation said. It added that FDCs are needed only in specific cases when the combined drugs enhance efficacy, or when a treatment regime specifically requires drugs to be combined (in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis) to reduce emergence of drug resistance, or when the combination decreases side-effects.

“In all other cases, availability of FDC is contrary to public health goals. Irrational FDCs push up treatment cost and multiply the possibility of adverse reactions … FDCs of antibioticscontribute to the growth of antimicrobial resistance,” the organisation said.

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