From painkillers and nasal spray to pills, panel to finalize OTC drug list, report likely in August – News18

You may soon find certain medicines available over-the-counter (OTC) as India’s apex drug regulatory agency has formed a panel to discuss how to make certain medicines, such as a pain reliever, nasal spray and tablets, are available without a prescription, News18 reported. learned

According to the letter issued by the Drug Regulatory Agency of India, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has received representation from some companies for certain drug formulations to be sold over the counter.

There are individual representations from some companies for certain over-the-counter drug formulations, namely Diclofenac Diethylamine Transdermal Patch 200mg, Effervescent Acetylsalicylic Acid 500 Tablets, Dextromethorphan HBr Lozenges 50mg and Mometasone Furoate Nasal Spray, he said. the 50 mcg. letter, consulted by News18.

While diclofenac diethylamine transdermal patch and acetylsalicylic acid are pain relievers, dextromethorphan HBr tablets are a cough suppressant, and mometasone furoate nasal spray helps in the treatment of al. allergy and congestion or runny nose, itching and sneezing.

The court has been asked to submit its report within three months, i.e. the first week of August.

New OTC policy

In 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare decided to allow the sale of specific drugs without a prescription, forming a new OTC drug policy. The Technical Advisory Council on Drugs, the main advisory body on drugs, approved the new policy, but it was never implemented. Now, the government is back to work to implement the policy.

According to the letter, issued by CDSCO chief Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, the proposal to add these drugs for OTC sale was tabled at the 90th meeting of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) held on January 25, where the panel principal deliberated the matter.

DTAB decided to constitute a sub-committee to look into the matter based on which status of a drug as an OTC can be decided and a detailed mechanism can be developed for the drugs to be sold over the counter.

The board also recommended a comprehensive review of the draft notification for which international guidelines may also be considered, the letter said.

Similar to this, various panels have been formed to give information about the new OTC policy.

Different committees of doctors have been set up by the General Directorate of Health Services in OTC matters, which will give input to the subcommittee for its consideration.

new panel

The eight-member panel will be headed by Dr Anupam Prakash, director and professor of medicine at Delhi-based Lady Hardinge Medical College.

The panel includes Dr Umesh D Suranagi of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS); Dr. Ratan Kumar Gupta, Department of Paediatrics, Safdarjung Hospital; Dr Bikash Medhi, Pharmacology from PGIMER, Chandigarh; Dr. Abhishek Agrawal of SMS Medical College, Jaipur; a representative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and drug controller of Jharkhand and Karnataka.

The committee, in accordance with the letter, can co-opt experts in the field. The experts appointed as members of this subcommittee will have no conflict of interest, the letter clarifies.