E-DRUG: Baralgan in India (cont)
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Dear E-Druggers
Baralgan was banned in India as a result of a Public Interest Litigation in
the Supreme Court of India, of which we were one of the petitioners. The
clinching argument, which finally convinced the Court, was the fact that
Hoechst was not allowed to sell the product in Germany.
In the course of the arguments in court the Drug Controller's office in
India stood firmly on the side of ... YES!...Hoechst. They even tried to
stall proceedings by claiming that a trial was underway in the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences -- AIIMS -- (India's leading Medical
Institute, in Delhi) comparing the efficacy of Baralgan and Metamizole alone
when used as a anti-spasmodic. Fortunately the Court ruled against the Govt.
and Hoechst. But the above trial was conducted in AIIMS and apparently
showed that Metamizole alone was as effective as Baralgan as an
anti-spasmodic. This may or may not be true -- given the fact that the trial
was - in all probability - funded by Hoechst. But I beleive (but am open to
correction) that there is a view today that so called spasmodic pain respond
equally well to pain killers. So Hoechst's claim may not be totally off the
mark. However, there should be no doubt at all, that Hoechst's promotion of
Metamizole alone as Baralgan is prompted by commercial considerations.
(Incidentally the above mentioned Public Interest Litigation is still being
heard, and we are trying to get a host of combination products banned. The
latest, on which there is a tussle, is a combination of B1, B6, and B12
Vitamins - Merck's top selling product in India).
Dr.Amit Sen Gupta
National Campaign Committee for Drug Policy
New Delhi, India
Email: ctddsf@vsnl.com [manually added by moderator; WB]
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