NEW DELHI DEC 31: The Union Health Ministry has banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of all oral formulations of the popular painkiller nimesulide exceeding 100 mg strength, citing serious health risks.
The decision follows a recommendation from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s apex health research body, as per an official notification issued on Monday.
“The Central government is satisfied that the use of all oral formulations containing nimesulide above 100 mg in immediate release dosage form is likely to involve risk to human beings, and that safer alternatives to the said drug are available,” the notification stated.
Invoking Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, the Centre has prohibited the drug’s production, sale, and distribution across the country with immediate effect in the public interest.
