Is Meftal banned in India?

Meftal is Blue Cross Laboratories' brand of mefenamic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used for period pain, fever and mild-to-moderate pain, including a paediatric strength sold as Meftal-P. It is not banned in India, and no Section 26A notification has ever been issued against mefenamic acid.

The question arises because of a drug safety alert. On 30 November 2023 the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, which runs the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, asked doctors, pharmacists and patients to monitor for DRESS syndrome, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms, after adverse-event reports involving mefenamic acid. An alert of this kind is a request to report suspected reactions. It does not change the drug's licence, and the IPC does not have the power to ban a medicine.

A second wave of confusion came in April 2025, when the CDSCO told state licensing authorities to halt 35 fixed-dose combinations it considered unapproved. One of them combines drotaverine, mefenamic acid and paracetamol. That product is not Meftal, and Meftal-Spas (mefenamic acid + dicyclomine) was not on the list either.

If you use Meftal regularly, the practical advice is unchanged: take it as prescribed, and see a doctor if you develop a rash or fever some weeks into treatment.