Is Allegra banned in India?

Allegra is the fexofenadine brand from Sanofi's consumer business, sold in 120 mg and 180 mg tablets and, as Allegra-M, in combination with montelukast. It is not banned in India.

Fexofenadine has never been the subject of a Section 26A notification. It does not appear in the CDSCO's list of banned single-ingredient drugs, and no fexofenadine combination is in the FDC ban waves of 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024 or 2026. Fexofenadine + montelukast, the Allegra-M combination, was likewise not in the April 2025 list of 35 unapproved combinations.

The question probably has two roots. Fexofenadine is the active metabolite of terfenadine, a 1990s antihistamine that was banned in India and withdrawn worldwide because it could cause a dangerous heart rhythm, particularly with certain antibiotics and antifungals. Fexofenadine was developed precisely because it does not carry that risk, but the family connection means the two names sometimes travel together in old lists. More recently, headlines about cetirizine and levocetirizine cold combinations being banned in 2024 and about chlorpheniramine + phenylephrine restrictions in 2025 to 2026 have made "antihistamine ban" a recurring phrase.

Allegra is non-sedating for most people and available over the counter. If a CDSCO monthly alert ever names a fexofenadine batch, that finding is batch-specific; compare the number on the strip.