The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the government’s ban on 344 fixed-dose combination medicines including Corex cough syrup, Vicks Action 500 extra and DCold, Reuters reported. The government’s counsel had defended the ban, which was enforced in March, saying the medicines are “therapeutically ineffective”.
Justice RS Endlaw had permitted 454 pleas filed by pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer, Glenmark, Procter and Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Cipla. The government’s lawyer, Sanjay Jain, told the news agency that the administration planned on moving a higher court to challenge the order. Jain said the court had not specified any reasons for the stay order, which has not been made public yet.
The stay order has provided temporary relief to drug manufacturers affected by the ban, although many had secured specific stay orders as soon as the ban was announced.
The report said that the ban covered drugs that had components also used across the globe to help patients cope with complicated treatments for conditions including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The news agency reported that its investigation found that weak laws had allowed for easy access of fixed-dose combination drugs into the country. The misuse of these medicines reportedly leads to antibiotic resistance.
A ban in 2007 to ban 294 similar drugs was also opposed by the drug manufacturers, who secured a stay order from a court.
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