Chennai, June 6: Apollo Hospitals Group today decided not to prescribe drugs manufactured by Ranbaxy.

The decision follows Ranbaxy Laboratory’s indictment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for “selling adulterated drugs” in the American market. A settlement of $500-million (around Rs 29,841 crore) has been reached.

A Ranbaxy spokesperson told The Telegraph: “Ranbaxy is committed to its philosophy of ‘quality and patients first’. We have met the CEO of Apollo Pharmacies and they have expressed complete trust in us and assured full support. Consultants continue to prescribe our products and we have continuous supply of our products in Apollo Hospitals.”

Apollo has chosen not to publicise its decision. The decision was conveyed to its doctors as an internal brief by department heads across the country. “Our chairman Dr Pratap Reddy was clear that Ranbaxy Drugs will stay off Apollo’s inventory till the drug controller general of India came up with a clarification about it. We need to take this decision in the interest of our patients,” said a senior doctor.

Last week, Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital had issued a circular asking its doctors not to prescribe Ranbaxy drugs.

Ranbaxy reacted to the Jaslok move by issuing a statement saying all its drugs were safe.