The ministry of health and family welfare has forwarded a list of 83 drugs identified as "medicines required in emergency care" to the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers in response to the latter's attempt to come out with a list of "life saving drugs" to be kept under price control.
The list has been prepared by the office of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) from the National List of Essential Medicines 2003 to be submitted to the C & F ministry. Majority of the drugs identified by the health ministry are injectables with exceptions like acetyl salicylic acid (tablets), activated charcoal (powder), beclomethasone dipropionate (inhalation), oxygen (inhalation), oral rehydration salts (powder), panicillamine (tablets) and salbutamol sulphate (inhalation).
In a communication to the C & F ministry, the health ministry officials have informed that "life saving medicines" is not a term used in the department of health. According to them, medicines used in life threatening situations or medicines used for emergency care should be considered as life saving medicines. The ministry had also sought the advice of Dr Ranjit Roy Chaudhary, of Delhi Society for Rational Use of Drugs who confirmed the definition of life saving drugs as “drugs which require immediate administration within minutes post of / or during a medical emergency. Medicines which have the potential to sustain life and / or prevent further complications.”
The injectables that are now under the active consideration of the C & F ministry for price monitoring are Adenosine, Adrenaline Bitartrate, Aminophylline, Amiodarone, Ampicillin, Antisnake venom, Antitetanus human immunoglobin, Artesunate, Atropine Sulphate, Azithromycin, Benzylpenicillin, Calcium Gluconate, Cefotaxime, Chloroquine Phosphate, Cryoprecipitate, Cyanocobalamin, Dexamethasone, Dextran-70, Diazepam, Dicyclomine Hydrochloride, Digoxin, Diltiazem, Diphtheria Antitoxin, Dobutamine, Dopamine Hydrochloride, Enalapril Maleate, Factor IX Complex, Factor VIII Concentrate, Flumazenil, Fresh Frozen Plasma, Furosemide, Glucagon, Glucose with Sodium Chloride, Glucose, Glyceryl Trinitrate, Haloperidol, Heparin Sodium, Hydrocortisone Sodium Succinate, Hydroxyethyl Starch, Insulin injection, Intraperitoneal dialysis solution, Isoprenaline Hydrochloride, Magnesium Sulphate, Mannitol, Methylprednisolone, Methylthioninium Chloride, Metoclopramide, Metoprolol, Morphine Sulphate, N/2 Saline, N/5 Saline, Naloxone, Neostigmine, Normal Saline, Oxytocin, Paracetamol, Pentazocine, Pethidine Hydrochloride, Pheniramine Maleate, Phenobarbitone, Phenytoin Sodium, Platelet Rich Plasma, Polygeline, Potassium Chloride, Pralidoxime Chloride, Protamine Sulphate, Quinine Sulphate, Rabies Immunoglobulin, Rabies Vaccine, Ringer Lactate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Nitrate, Sodium Nitroprusside, Sodium Thiosulphate and Streptokinase.