An expert panel formed by an apex advisory board on drugs to review the "safety, efficacy and therapeutic justification" of 349 fixed dose combination (FDC) medicines, which were banned in 2016, have backed the Health Ministry's decision to ban the drugs, barring six of them. The panel set up by the ministry has submitted its recommendations to the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), which will forward the same to the health ministry soon, a government official said."

After reviewing the 349 FDCs, the panel had recommended that 343 of them should be banned, while the remaining six drugs be 'restricted or regulated'. The Supreme Court had last year directed the DTAB to review the safety, efficacy and therapeutic justification of the 349 FDCs, following which a sub-committee was formed to re-examine them. FDC means a combination of two or more drugs in a fixed dosage ratio. The banned FDCs include painkillers, anti-diabetic, respiratory and gastro-intestinal medicines.