Abbott Recalls Batches of Antacid Digene Gel, DCGI Issues Alert: What to Know

Drug regulatory body, DCGI, has warned against the use of Digene Gel manufactured at Abbott India's Goa facility.

Image for representational use only.

(Photo: Abbott India/Altered by FIT)

Several batches of popular antacid Digene Gel have been recalled by its parent company, Abbott India after complains of foul smell and bad odour.

What happened: The Mumbai-based company has voluntarily recalled batches of the antacid, especially the mint and orange-flavoured syrups, reported News18.

Furthermore the company has reportedly decided to stop the production of all flavours of Digene Gel at their Goa facility.

Beyond the headlines: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) first brought up the issue on 31 August, in a letter, saying, "on 9 August 2023, one bottle of Digene Gel Mint flavour used by the customer is of regular taste (sweet) and light pink colour whereas another bottle of same batch observed it was of white colour with bitter taste and pungent odour as per complaint".

The DCGI has also warned consumers to discontinue the use of Digene Gel manufactured at the company's Goa facility.

Healthcare professionals have been asked to prescribe carefully and educate patients regarding the development, and to report any ADRs (adverse drug reaction) arising due to consumption of the antacid.

The DCGI has, reportedly, been intimated by the company about the voluntary recall over the quality concerns on 11 August.

Of note: According to Abbott India, there have been no reports of adverse effects or health concerns in their customers, nor in the consumer who made the initial complaint.

Furthermore, they company says other variations of Digene (dissolvable tablets, stick packs) are not impacted. Same goes for Digene Gel manufactured at other production, reported MoneyControl.

(Written with inputs from News18 and MoneyControl.)