Pregabalin moved to Schedule H1; ₹1,800 cr segment faces tighter chemist compliance

Health Ministry has reclassified pregabalin under Schedule H1, mandating prescription-only sale, separate retailer registers and packaging warnings. Sun Pharma, Torrent, Intas and Micro Labs lead the ₹1,800 crore CNS segment now exposed to stricter chemist-counter controls and audit risk.

— Source publishedFri, 22 May, 2026, 14:27 IST·First seen Fri, 22 May, 2026, 22:18 IST·Source The Hindu BusinessLine

What happened

Union Health Ministry · Health Ministry has moved pregabalin under Schedule H1, mandating prescription-only sale and separate retailer registers. The ₹1,800

Key facts

  • ₹1,800 crore pregabalin segment

Why this matters

Scout bolt-on CNS assets or alternative neuropathic pain molecules to hedge pregabalin exposure as Schedule H1 raises the compliance moat for sub-scale players.