Bangladesh bans production, marketing of Ranitidine tablet

FT ONLINE

The drug authority in Bangladesh has temporarily banned the production and marketing of Ranitidine hydrochloride tablets.

The authority has also banned the import of raw material from India’s Saraca Laboratories Ltd for making the tablets, mostly used to treat ulcers of the stomach.

Director General of the Drug Administration Major General Md Mahbubur Rahman confirmed the matter on Sunday.

The decision comes after GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals’ voluntary recall of Ranitidine tablets produced in India following an alleged detection of genotoxic nitrosamine NDMA by global and Indian regulatory authorities.

Rahman said they sat down with pharmaceutical industry leaders and analysed the issue before taking the decision.