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29 diabetes, asthma drugs banned

ISLAMABAD: The Health Ministry has banned the sale and distribution of 29 diabetes and asthma medicines in the country, Dr Talib Lashari of TheNetwork told Daily Times on Sunday. He said the Drug Registration Board in its 206th meeting in Islamabad on August 18 banned the sale and distribution of these medicines. On June 9, the board barred pharmaceutical firms from marketing these drugs because they contained Theophylline, Ephedrine HCL, Hydroxyzine and Gatifloxacin, which are harmful for human life, he said. He said the banned drugs were Floget, Gatcin, Gatex, Gatox, Gaxin, Getrlox, Glax, Oxifect, Quintec, Rele, Teriget, Zequin, Zextra, Tequin, Tati, Lyfogat, Xymer, Gaticobaxin, Tagaflox, Gatiwell, Gatiquin, Grayflox, Gatwin, Quixin, Galox, Gatlox, Shalter, Gacin, Marax and Dorax. He said the Federal Drug Agency (FDA) of the US government had banned these drugs and withdraw them from the US market in 1998. Lashari said import of the raw material for these medicines had also been banned and the Health Ministry had directed manufacturing firms to send back the raw material to the exporters. However, he said, the ministry had allowed the use of reserved stock of Gatifloxacin for the manufacture of eye drops. He said Gatifloxacin was linked to disturbance of blood glucose. He said the substance was also risky for diabetics because its use could result in abrupt Dysglycemic effect , hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. He urged manufacturers of these drugs to withdraw them from the market immediately and medical practitioners not to prescribe them. staff report

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