Centre Bans 156 Fixed-Dose Combination Medicines Due to Health Risks – See Full List Here

This is the biggest crackdown on FDCs since the government banned 344 drugs in 2016, which was then challenged by drug makers.

The Health Ministry on Thursday, August 22, banned 156 fixed-dose combination (FDC) medicines, including antibiotics used for fever and colds, painkillers, and multivitamins, saying that they are ‘likely to involve risk to human beings’.

Issuing a gazette notification prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of these medicines under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, the Union health ministry said, “The matter was examined by an expert committee appointed by the central government and the DTAB, with both bodies recommending that there is no therapeutic justification for the ingredients contained in the said FDCs.”

This is the biggest crackdown on FDCs since the government banned 344 drugs in 2016, which was then challenged by drug makers.

The list also includes certain products that many drug makers have already discontinued. In June 2023, 14 FDCs, which were part of those 344 drug combinations, were banned.

Nearly 324 FDCs were examined by an Expert Committee appointed by the Centre, which considered them as “irrational”.

According to the notification, the list includes antibiotics, anti-allergic drugs, analgesics, multivitamins, and combination dosages for fever and hypertension are among the prohibited FDCs.

The government also banned the combination of Paracetamol, Tramadol, Taurine and Caffeine. Tramadol is an opioid-based painkiller. It will affect major pharmaceutical companies, including Sun Pharmaceuticals, Cipla, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, and Alkem Laboratories.

Here’s list of all 156 banned medicines:

Sancheti College

Sancheti College