The Enquiry Committee appointed by the Kerala branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on the rationality of Neurobion Forte of Merck Limited, has concluded that it would be advisable to individually prescribe Vitamin B1, B6 and B12 and not in a combination.
Though the Association has withdrawn the boycott on the Merck's combination brand on the ground that the product has not been banned as such by the authorities, the Association alarmed its members that the neurotropic property remains unproved in the combination even with two more ingredients. Merck lost nearly 5000 prescriptions during the one month boycott on the product by the state doctors, the IMA sources said.
It may be recalled that following the boycott called by the Association against Neurobion Forte, it had appointed an Enquiry Committee to investigate into the rationality of the product in the light of an earlier government ban on the Vitamin B1 B6 B12 combination in the country. The Association boycotted this product, a leading brand of the multinational, Merck Limited, as the company tried to evade the ban for the combination by adding two more ingredients.
Announcing the boycott, the Association had instructed its members not to prescribe the brand as it is an irrational product and also because of the company's intention to flout the law. The IMA Kerala branch has not only protested the use of this irrational combination but also strongly condemned the companies who are still marketing this vitamin combination in the country despite the government ban.
Dr T Suresh Kumar, secretary, IMA, Kerala branch, said that the report states that "Since the new combination is not found to be harmful and also as the ban cannot be applicable on the product as such, it is not fair to continue the boycott. Still we have advised our members to avoid prescribing the combination unless there is urgency."
The three-member committee constituted by the Association comprises of Dr Sreejit N Kumar, Dr Ayesha and Dr Vijay Kumar. The committee was constituted to study the actual reason for the ban and also to investigate that whether any other brands of the same combinations are also available in the market after the ban.
It may be recalled that Merck India, soon after the ban order issued by the Drug Controller General of India, had launched the its Vitamin B1, B6, B12 combination 'Neurobion' by adding two new ingredients namely calcium pentothenite and nicotinamide under the trade mark Neurobion Forte.
The ban on the marketing of fixed dose combination of Vitamin B1, B6 and B12 is in effect from January 2001 as per a notification issued by the government in September 2000. With this, manufacturing and marketing of fixed dose combinations of vitamin B1, B6 and B12 most of the drug companies marketing this combination have withdrawn or were in the process of withdrawing such formulations.
However, Merck had already withdrawn its leading brand Neurobion containing the three vitamins even before the notification anticipating the same.