New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed a government ban on 344 fixed dose combination medicines bringing major relief to the pharmaceutical industry in the country.


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The March 10 notification banned the drugs, many of then popular household names like Corex or Vicks Action 500 on the ground that these combination drugs have dangerous side-effects. It was also viewed that many of these combinations lacked efficacy in treatment over the individual drugs.


Though the Delhi High Court quashed the notification, the drugs cannot start selling in the market.


The central government is likely to challenge the judgment of Delhi High Court in the Supreme Court.


The pharma companies had challenged the March 10 drug ban before the Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore high courts. The central government had also filed a plea in the Supreme Court to transfer all cases related to the March 10 notification before itself.


Here is the list of companies and some of their products that were affected:


Abbott: Cough Syrup Phensedyl, Tossex and triple combination diabetes drug Tribet


Pfizer: Cough Syrup Corex


Macleods: Panderum Plus


Mankind: Multiple products


Alkem: Sumo (Nimesulide + Paracetamol) and Taxim AZ 


Sun Pharma: Gemer P 


Ipca: Zerodol P 


Glenmark: Ascoril range of cough syrups


Wockhardt: Zedex cough syrups, Ace Proxyvan 


Lupin: Gluconorm most impacted


Cipla: Triexer most impacted


 Procter and Gamble (P&G): Vicks Action 500 Extra


Source: AIOCD AWACS(a pharmaceutical market research organisation)


So, it would be too soon to start expecting these drugs hitting retail stores.