Is Wikoryl banned in India?

Wikoryl is Alembic's cold and flu product, sold as syrup, paediatric drops and tablets, combining paracetamol with chlorpheniramine maleate and phenylephrine. It is not banned. It is one of the many brands affected by the Health Ministry's restriction on chlorpheniramine + phenylephrine combinations in young children.

The first notification, S.O. 1717(E) of 15 April 2025, required drops and syrups containing the two drugs to state that they "shall not be used in children below four years" and barred their promotion for that age. The second, S.O. 4595(E) of 18 August 2026, extended the condition to every fixed-dose combination containing chlorpheniramine and phenylephrine, regardless of dosage form or additional ingredients. The reasoning, set out in the CDSCO's 2023 correspondence with manufacturers, is that decongestant-antihistamine combinations have no proven benefit in small children and carry a risk of serious adverse events.

A separate DGHS proposal, discussed by the Drugs Consultative Committee on 19 September 2026, would add a red "not below four years" warning to all cough syrups. That would change the packaging, not the legal status.

Wikoryl was not named in the August 2024 ban list, which prohibited the cetirizine-based cold tablet rather than the chlorpheniramine one. For adults and children over four the product can be used as labelled; for younger children, ask a doctor.