Doctors on drug ban: Govt moving in right direction

They say that a fat chunk of the banned drugs are already banned in most of the countries worldwide

Several committee reports have time and again pointed at a large number of harmful drugs in the market. Doctors believe that government's step - even though it may give a jolt to the pharma sector's corporate fortunes - is meant to correct the situation.

"These drugs have been proven to be harmful for us. Most of the countries worldwide have already banned them. Moreover, this toxicity - proven in many of these drugs - decreases the body resistance to fight any disease," said a senior AIIMS doctor.

For example, Nimesulide - a drug which can cause liver damage, especially among children suffering from viral infection - is banned in the US, UK and Australia. As a result, the Indian government has now banned its nine different combinations.

According to the Ranjit Roy committee set up by health ministry, the country has an unacceptably large number of drug formulations in the market - somewhere between 60,000 and 85,000. "Many of these medicines should not have been allowed to reach the market in the first place," it said.

The committee, which submitted its report in July 2013, expressed its surprise as to "how such a situation has come to pass". "Such a massive drug consumption leads to body getting immune to the medicine's effect itself. The situation becomes dangerous as a stronger drug is needed to kill the same bacteria," said the doctor.

The government, understanding the seriousness of situation, set up a new panel, under the chairmanship of Professor Chandrakant Kokate, to  review the safety and efficacy of one category of drugs - fixed dose combinations (FDCs). Consequently, it banned 344 FDCs last Thursday.

"I have to give my patients directly the second or third line of treatment when they come to me. Earlier, they used to get well in 2-3 days. Now, they take 7-8 days. Their body has become immune to antibiotics due to its continuous usage," said a Gurgaon-based pulmonologist.