India, Dec. 31 -- By Shalini Bhardwaj

New Delhi [India], December 31 (ANI): The Government of India has banned the manufacture of the painkiller nimesulide and prohibited the sale and distribution of all oral formulations containing more than 100 mg of the drug.

The decision was taken following a review by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country's apex health research body. The government said that higher-dose oral formulations of nimesulide pose potential risks to human health and that safer alternatives are available.

In a notification, the government said, "The Central Government is satisfied that the use of all oral formulations containing Nimesulide above 100 mg in immediate release dosage form is likely to invo...