Good news for diabetics, ban on cheap drug to go

New Delhi, July 12: There is a good news for type II diabetic patients. The government will shortly withdraw ban on diabetic drug pioglitazone.

Pioglitazone is most suited drug for Indians as most of type II diabetic patients in India suffer from insulin resistance.

Its use is considered cheap as the drug makes a person's body insulin work for them instead of injecting expensive insulin.

Diabetologists say that pioglitazone also reduces triglycerides and increases HDL (good cholesterol).

The government seems to have taken the decision to lift ban on pioglitazone after consulting a team doctors as the ban had raised huge outcry in medical community.

The drug, used by nearly six percent or 30 lakh patients, was banned as it was suspected to be the cause of bladder cancer.

Now, the drug is likely to be sold with a warning about possible side-effects.

Many doctors say that studies linking the drug to bladder cancer were done in the West. They said it should not have been banned without scientific evidence about Indians.

The country is estimated to have 60 million diabetics and the pioglitazone manufacturing industry is worth nearly Rs 600 crore.

OneIndia News