The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) will soon file a counter petition in the Madras High Court praying for vacating the court order that stayed DCGI directive in which the DCGI had asked the state drug controllers of the country to take action against the FDC drugs.

"I will soon file the counter petition in the court soon", DCGI Dr M Venkateshwarlu tersely said. "It may take some time to get the stay vacated, but I will move court in this regard," he added.

That the DCGI is steadfast in his decision to act tough against the fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs is clear from his words. "I will definitely take the matter to the Supreme Court if the situation warranted so," he said.

During the last two weeks, the Madras High Court had allowed stay on the controversial DCGI order twice. While the court ordered stay on the DCGI order acting on a petition filed by five pharma companies in Pondicherry, the court once again stayed the order, this time acting on a petition filed by the Federation of South Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (FSIPMA).

The court order has virtually put a full stop, though temporary, to the DCGI's campaign against FDC drugs. The DCGI had identified 294 FDCs in this regard. The court order comes just as the state drug authorities were to start action at the ground level.