The Indian Express edit page today carries a column I wrote on fixed dose combinations (FDCs) post the Lancet article. For the record, the Lancet shone the light on a plethora of FDCs of the diabetes drug metformin with others that, they believe, have no rationale to be on the market. I have used the FDCs issue as a springboard to comment on the larger state of drug regulation and call for its rehaul.
The Express is usually prompt in publishing my opinion pieces. This one, for some reason, they carried after several weeks of me having filed it. So those of you who are wondering why I chose to react to the Lancet article now, wonder no more.
If it sounds as if this piece of commentary would hold true in any year that is because, unfortunately for the Indian patient, some health issues never go out of fashion. Read on. The headline is a bit too dramatic for my taste but if that’s what it takes to grab eyeballs then so be it. I want to add here that I hope someone in New Delhi with the power to effect change is reading these pieces I do for the Express because they sure as hell aren’t reading my blog.
Apothecurry 