The government has released the list of essential medicines. But this time 26 drugs have been excluded from this list. This includes the ranitidine drug sold under the brand names Aciloc, Zinetac and Rantac. These medicines are commonly used for diseases related to acidity and stomach pain.
In view of the risk of cancer, the government has removed the famous antacid salt Ranitidine from the list of essential medicines. Including this medicine, a total of 26 medicines have been removed from the list.
Ranitidine is mainly sold under the brand names Aciloc, Zinetac and Rantac. These medicines are commonly used for diseases related to acidity and stomach pain.
The Health Ministry on Tuesday released a new National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). This includes 384 medicines, 26 medicines which have been removed from the list will no longer be available in the market.
Let us inform that ranitidine is under investigation worldwide for concerns related to cancer. The health ministry had discussed with the Drug Controller General of India and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) the details regarding phasing out the salt (formula) from the essential stock.
Its investigation has been going on since 2019, when the US Food and Drug Administration found a potential cancer-causing error in the drug. Drug regulators found the cancer-causing disorder N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at ‘unacceptable levels’ in samples of ranitidine-containing drugs.
These 26 drugs removed from the list
1. Alteplase
2. Atenolol
3. Bleaching Powder
4. Capreomycin
5. Cetrimide
6. Chlorpheniramine
7. Diloxanide furoate
8. Dimercaprol
9. Erythromycin
10. Ethinylestradiol
11. Ethinyl Estradiol (A) Norethisterone (B) (Ethinylestradiol-A Norethisterone-B)
12. Ganciclovir
13. Kanamycin
14. Lamivudine-A + Nevirapine-B + Stavudine-C
15. Leflunomide
16. Methyldopa
17. Nicotinamide
18. Pegylated interferon alfa 2a, Pegylated interferon alfa 2b (Pegylated interferon alfa 2a, Pegylated interferon alfa 2b)
19. Pentamidine
20. Prilocaine (A) + Lignocaine (B) (Prilocaine-A + Lignocaine-B)
21. Procarbazine
22. Ranitidine
23. Rifabutin
24. Stavudine (A) + Lamivudine (B) 25. Sucralfate Stavudine-A + Lamivudine B 25. Sucralfate)
26. White Petrolatum
Let us tell you that Zantac is one of the few drugs in the world, which in 1988 was included in the world’s top-selling drugs with $1 billion in annual sales.
The cost of these medicines will be less
With the release of the new essential list, the prices of many drugs in high demand in India are likely to come down. Including diabetes drugs like insulin glargine, tuberculosis drugs like delamanid and antiparasites like ivermectin.
