Govt plans regulatory crackdown on similar-sounding, look-alike drug brands

Drug manufacturers in India will soon be required to upload their product formulations and brand names on the government's portal

Drug companies may soon face increased scrutiny of their branding strategies, as the government intends to address the issue of similar-sounding and look-alike medication names, according to a report by the Economic Times.
 

The Centre aims to enhance patient safety and reduce the risks associated with look-alike sound-alike (LASA) drugs.

The Centre is likely to recognise only the original brand names approved by the regulator. Any subsequent brands with identical or similar names and appearances will be prohibited from being marketed. Drug manufacturers will soon be required to upload their product formulations and brand names on the government’s portal, the report said.

The news report quoted a source as saying, “It has been brought to the notice that a large number of drugs are being sold in India with identical brand names treating entirely different conditions. The consequences of confusion between these medications at the pharmacy can be serious for patients.”

To tackle the problem of identical brand names in the marketplace, the government has suggested making the database of all products with brand names on the Sugam portal publicly accessible, the report said.
 

India has long faced the challenge of different drugs being manufactured and marketed under the same brand name.

Examples of such cases include ‘Olvance’, the brand name for the antihypertensive drug ‘olmesartan’, and ‘Oleanz’, a brand for the antipsychotic drug ‘olanzapine’. Another example is IMOX (amoxicillin tablets for humans) versus INIMOX (a combination of amoxicillin and cloxacillin as an injection for veterinary use).

In January, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, India’s top drug advisory body, discussed the issue of the same brand names (including those that look or sound alike) for different categories of products. They recommended that to ensure patient safety, the manufacturing and marketing of different drugs with the same brand name should be prohibited, the report said.

Subsequently, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) has written to the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, urging for increased monitoring and surveillance of trademarks associated with pharmaceutical products to identify and address instances of similarity or confusion.
 

“It has come to our attention that various drugs, including those with soundalike and lookalike names, are being produced and distributed under identical or similar trademarks. The situation not only creates confusion among healthcare professionals and patients but also increases the likelihood of medication errors, adverse drug reactions and other serious health consequences,” the DGHS letter said.