Pharma products face stricter scrutiny over drug brand name confusion: Report

The Drugs Consultative Committee is expected to review and provide recommendations on this matter later this month.

The government is likely to step up scrutiny of drug branding practices, targeting the lookalike and soundalike brand names that could potentially endanger patient safety, according to a report by the Economic Times.

The government plans to validate only those brand names that have received prior approval from regulators. Brands with similar or identical names will be prohibited from being marketed. Drug manufacturers will soon be required to upload detailed formulation information alongside their brand names to a government portal.

This issue was recently discussed by the health ministry. "A significant number of drugs in India have identical brand names for different conditions, which can lead to serious confusion at pharmacies," a source informed ET. To mitigate this problem, the government proposes making the Sugam portal's database, which includes all brand names, publicly accessible.

India has faced challenges with drugs marketed under identical brand names for some time. For example, the antihypertensive drug olmesartan is marketed under the brand 'Olvance,' while the antipsychotic drug olanzapine is sold as 'Oleanz'. Similarly, 'IMOX' (amoxicillin tablets) and 'INIMOX' (a veterinary amoxicillin and cloxacillin combination) illustrate the potential for confusion, the ET report added.

In January, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board, India's top drug advisory body, reviewed the issue and recommended that drugs with identical brand names not be allowed. Following this, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) sent a letter to the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, requesting increased surveillance and enforcement of trademark regulations for pharmaceutical products. The DGHS emphasised the need for stricter implementation to protect public health.

The Drugs Consultative Committee is expected to review and provide recommendations on this matter later this month.