The Indian government has banned sale of three drugs – painkiller Analgin, anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone and anti-depressant deanxit.

New Delhi, June 27/Nationalturk – In order to provide non-hazardous drugs to patients in the country, Indian government has banned sale of three drugs – painkiller Analgin, anti-diabetes drug Pioglitazone and anti-depressant deanxit.

“The government has banned three popular medicines—pioglitazone, painkiller analgin and anti-depressant deanxit—in the wake of health risks associated with them,” India’s leading newspaper, Times of India reported.

The newspaper said it was believed that pioglitazone, which is banned in France, can cause heart failure and increases risk of bladder cancer. It is sold in the US, UK, Japan, Canada and Europe with a boxed warning

Analgin was withdrawn from Sweden in 1997 for the risk of causing a sharp fall in white blood cells, a potentially fatal condition, called agranulocytosis.  The drug is also banned in France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan among a host of other countries.

Deanxit  is a harmful combination, which has been long banned even in Denmark, its country of origin.

The newspaper while quoting informed sources said India’s Health and Family Welfare Ministry has suspended the manufacture and sale of all three drugs under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 with immediate effect. Under the Drugs and Cosmetic Rule 30-B, the import and marketing of any drug the use of which is prohibited in the country of origin, is banned in India

This decision comes in the wake of a strong stand by the government on suspending marketing of all drugs prohibited for sale in other countries like the US, the UK, EU and Australia.

‘Ban will hit major pharma companies’

“The decision to ban pioglitazone and its combinations will hit the Rs 700-crore market for such drugs and adversely impact a clutch of companies including Abbott, Sun Pharma, USV, Lupin, Ranbaxy and Wockhardt,” industry experts said.

They said pain-reliever analgin is a relatively small market with brands like Baralgan and Novalgin (Sanofi Aventis), as most companies fearing a ban have already pulled out from the market.

They said the third drug, a combination of Flupenthixol and Melitracen sold as Deanxit (Lundbeck), Placida (Mankind), Franxit (Intas) and Restfull (Lupin) is facing a ban because deanxit is prohibited for sale in Denmark, its country of origin, and also, the combination is not sold in major countries.

During 2010-2011 , Indian’s Drug Controller General banned several drugs such as anti-diabetes medicine Rosiglitazone, anti-obesity drug Sibutramine, pain-killer Nimesulide for pediatric use, antibiotic Gaifloxacin, Cisapride and Tegaserod, which are used for treating gastro-intestinal motility and irritable bowel syndrome , respectively.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News