After being banned in retail markets, the Drug Controller will soon restrict manufacturing of controversial hormone drug Oxytocin to public sector undertakings (PSUs). The drug is used by diary owners and farmers to boost milk production and make vegetables look bigger and fresher.
For childbirth
Oxytocin is a hormone known to trigger a wide variety of physical and psychological effects and is commonly used to facilitate childbirth. The Government of India banned retail sale of the hormone in 2014 after it was found that indiscriminate use of Oxytocin in milch animals and by farmers was causing irreversible hormone damage. “We want to restrict the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredient [API] to PSUs. The Health Ministry’s idea is to restrict everything is to public sector and as the drug regulator, we agree with the government’s thinking. This will be done at the earliest,” said G.N. Singh, Drug Controller General of India.
Maneka’s proposal
The move has been proposed by animal rights activist and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. “Misuse of Oxytocin is leading to early sterility in milch animals at an unprecedented rate. Despite it being a Schedule H drug, it is impossible to prevent its manufacturing at registered private factories. Implications to human health are humongous, from reproductive complications to hormonal imbalances. One major reason for such blatant misuse of this drug is the absence of robust veterinary services in India. It would be in the interest of the dairy industry and consumers to restrict manufacture and import of Oxytocin as has been directed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court,” said Gauri Maulekhi, animal rights activist and a close associate of Ms. Gandhi.
HC order
In March 2016, the Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the Central government to “consider the feasibility of restricting the manufacture of Oxytocin only in public sector companies and also restricting and limiting the manufacture by companies to whom licences have already been granted.”
The manufacture and sale of Oxytocin without a licence is a cognisable.
