The Ministry of Health on Wednesday banned the manufacture for sale or distribution of 328 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs with immediate effect. Besides, it has also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs subject to certain conditions, an official statement said. The banned medicines include brands like Piramal’s Saridon, Alkem Laboratories’ Taxim AZ and Macleods Pharma’s Panderm Plus cream. Government sources said the move means that around 6,000 medicine brands belonging to different companies and with a combined market size of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore may soon vanish from the drug market in the country. FDCs are two or more drugs combined in a fixed ratio into a single dosage form.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday banned the manufacture for sale or distribution of 328 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs with immediate effect. Besides, it has also restricted the manufacture, sale or distribution of six FDCs subject to certain conditions, an official statement said. The banned medicines include brands like Piramal’s Saridon, Alkem Laboratories’ Taxim AZ and Macleods Pharma’s Panderm Plus cream. Government sources said the move means that around 6,000 medicine brands belonging to different companies and with a combined market size of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore may soon vanish from the drug market in the country. FDCs are two or more drugs combined in a fixed ratio into a single dosage form.