Same Brand, Different Drug: Centre Seeks Public Comments On Curbing Misleading Pharma Names

Published 7 July 2026 · india

Same Brand, Different Drug: Centre Seeks Public Comments On Curbing Misleading Pharma Names Reported By, Last Updated: July 07, 2026, 09:59 IST CDSCO notice says

Same Brand, Different Drug: Centre Seeks Public Comments On Curbing Misleading Pharma Names Reported By, Last Updated: July 07, 2026, 09:59 IST CDSCO notice says using the same established brand name for drugs with different active ingredients may mislead consumers; stakeholders can submit comments till July 17 Rapid Read A brand that first became a household name because of one specific ingredient can later be attached to entirely different drugs, sold for entirely different conditions. (Representational image) In a move to protect patients from confusion over medicines, India’s apex drug regulator has thrown open for public comment a long-pending proposal to regulate the practice of pharmaceutical companies selling multiple, chemically different drugs under the same brand name with varying extensions. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has issued a formal notice seeking stakeholder responses on a matter it says could directly affect patient safety. What The Notice Says In simple terms, the regulator has flagged that some drug companies use one established, trusted brand name across several products, adding only a suffix or extension to distinguish them, even when the underlying medicine changes completely.

A brand that first became a household name because of one specific ingredient can later be attached to entirely different drugs, sold for entirely different conditions, simply by borrowing the recall value the original name had already built with consumers. Regulators worry that patients, chemists, and even prescribers, going purely by a familiar name rather than checking the composition, could end up picking the wrong medicine for the wrong condition. According to the notice issued by CDSCO, the agency “has received representations regarding Issue of use of brand name extensions by the pharmaceutical firms," and that the matter was taken up formally after “a representation received alleging that a pharmaceutical company is marketing multiple drug formulations under the same established brand name with different extensions." The core concern, as recorded in the notice, is that “the use of the same brand name for drugs with different active ingredients may mislead consumers and create confusion regarding their therapeutic use." The issue was earlier deliberated at the 67th meeting of the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) on November 17, 2025, after which the committee “opined to carry out a stakeholder consultation in the matter considering various aspects." Not the first time This is not the first time the issue has come up before India’s drug regulatory apparatus.