Indian court extends relief to pharma firms in drug ban case

Abbott India

21/03/2016 12:09

NEW DELHI, March 21 (Reuters) - An Indian court restrained 
the government from enforcing a ban on hundreds of drugs for 
another week on Monday until it has heard petitions from 
drugmakers challenging the order, a lawyer representing some of 
the firms said. 
    The health department prohibited the manufacture and sale of 
344 fixed-dose combination drugs this month, citing experts as 
saying there was no medical justification to administer them. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N16L07Q 
    Several companies, including Indian units of Abbott 
Laboratories  ABOT.NS   ABT.N  and Pfizer Inc  PFIZ.NS   PFE.N , 
and domestic firms like Cipla Ltd  CIPL.NS  and Macleods 
Pharmaceuticals, went to the Delhi High Court to try to get the 
ban lifted. 
    On Monday, judge Rajiv Sahai Endlaw moved the hearing into 
his chamber from a courtroom packed with lawyers and company 
executives. Archana Sachdeva, a lawyer representing Cipla among 
other firms, said he had ordered the next hearing on March 28. 
    Abbott is challenging the ban on its popular codeine-based 
cough syrup on the grounds it was not given a chance to defend 
itself. 
    Combination drugs are used worldwide to improve patients' 
compliance, as it is easier to get people to take one drug 
rather than several. But inconsistent enforcement of drug laws 
in India has led to hundreds of such medicines entering the 
market based on approval from regulators in individual states, 
rather than the central government. 
    Sanjay Jain, a lawyer representing the government, said he 
was trying to get the court to lift its order staying the ban on 
the drugs. "Commercial interests are not larger than public 
health," Jain told reporters. 
 
 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Suchitra Mohanty; Writing by 
Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Mark Trevelyan) 
 ((zeba.siddiqui@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9769624550; Reuters 
Messaging: zeba.siddiqui.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: INDIA MEDICINES/BAN