P&G to challenge Indian ban on Vicks Action 500 Extra

MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. consumer health group Procter & Gamble's (PG.N) Indian business plans to challenge a government ban on its cough-and-cold medicine Vicks Action 500 Extra, citing potential health risks.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (PROC.NS) said that while it had stopped selling the product, it was evaluating all options to challenge the ban.

Vicks Action 500 Extra is a fixed-dose combination of paracetamol, phenylephrine and caffeine, which was banned by India's health ministry in a notice issued over the weekend.

The product was one of 344 drug combinations, including several antibiotics and analgesics, that India ordered to be prohibited, saying that a government-appointed panel of experts had found the combinations lacked "therapeutic justification".

P&G said that all its products, including Vicks Action 500 Extra, were backed by research to support their quality, safety and efficacy.

It wasn't immediately clear how much the product contributed to P&G's sales.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and David Goodman)