COREX SALES STOPPED IN INDIA

OVER-DOSE? Shares fall as government bans a number of drugs to curb misuse, companies say exploring all options

NEW DELHI: The government’s ban on 350-odd drugs to curb the misuse of medicines in India has landed American pharma giants Pfizer and Abbott in a fix.

Abbott, the maker of popular cough syrup Phensedyl, has approached the Delhi High Court against the ministry of health and family welfare’s order banning its popular over the counter brand (OTC).

“Abbott has reviewed the DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) notification and we are concerned about the unilateral approach in prohibiting the manufacture, sale and distribution of certain fixed dose combinations that have already been approved for use by the DCGI. We are exploring all options,” the Abbott spokesperson told HT.

Abbott Healthcare is a unit of US-based Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories also has a listed subsidiary in India, Abbott India Ltd.

The sales of Phensedyl, based on Codeine, an opium derivative, are estimated to be more than 3% of Abbott’s $1 billion India revenue. Abbott’s global annual sales are over $20 billion.

Pfizer, meanwhile, on Monday received an interim stay from the Delhi High Court on the government order banning sale of its cough syrup Corex, after the company announced it will discontinue the sale and manufacture of its brand in a notification to the BSE earlier in the day.

Later in the day, the Delhi High Court directed the government not to take coercive steps against Pfizer, saying that Pfizer has been selling Corex for the last 25 years.

Pfizer’s stock plunged by as much as 8.67% on the BSE.

The company, however, reiterated that Corex maintains a “well established efficacy and safety profile in India” and the “firm is exploring all options.”

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, which backs foreign drug majors such as Pfizer and Abbott, said: “With this sweeping action, patients are to be denied access to some medicines that are approved as safe in India and globally.”

Experts felt the government order cannot stand up to scrutiny.