With Dr M Venkateshwarlu now out of the office of Drug Controller General of India in Delhi, his pet campaign of removal of thousands of harmful and irrational fixed dose combinations from the domestic market may lose its steam.
Though there were a few other significant reforrms also pursued by the former DCGI, the one project that may stand out in his brief tenure is the FDC issue which Dr Venkateshwarlu had taken up as a prestige issue. He did not leave any stones unreturned to ensure that the irrational combination drugs are removed from the market. When the issue was entangled in legal battle, Dr Venkateshwarlu used the DTAB route to ban the FDC drugs for which the process is still on.
Approach of the new DCGI on the FDC issue is yet to be known but the expectation among the industry is that it may not be a top priority for him. The celebrations in the industry on last Friday on getting the news of the exit of Dr Venkateshwarlu is quite indicative. Several industry leaders expressed a sigh of relief.
The industry's expectation of a possible slow down of action on FDCs is based on the reports that pressure was exerted at the Prime Minister's Office for not granting extension to Dr Venkateshwarlu. It was not for nothing that the PMO denied Dr Venkateshwarlu a further extension although the union health minister was in favour of his extension.
Dr Venkateshwarlu leaves the office at a critical stage as the Madras High Court, where his order was stayed, is to take up the case any time now. Besides, the DTAB's technical sub-committee is to take up the issue for identifying the irrational combination drugs for banning them. With Dr Venkateshwarlu out of the office, these issues may not get necessary importance at least for the time being.