Prices of 18 drugs slashed by up to 23 percent

New Delhi, Sep 2016:

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised the ceiling price of 18 more drugs, soon after the last round of changes. The latest move will mean reduction in price of up to 23 per cent for the 18 drugs.

Of the 18 drugs, 10 have been part of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2011 and 2015. Another eight are drugs that are coming under price control for the first time, as they have now been included in the list of essential medicines.

The drugs that have come under price revision now are for chemotherapy, treating malaria and epilepsy, among others.

In July, 123 medicines were brought under drug price control.

A total of around 900 drugs are part of the NLEM, 2015.

Last month, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilisers Ananth Kumar had said the government was mulling providing more than 50 essential drugs, including those used in treatment of cancer and AIDS, at cheaper rates to a large section of the population.

The latest price revision comes at a time when the industry is rebelling against price fixation. Around 70 per cent of the cases of price revision have been challenged by companies at the level of the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), according to industry estimate. While industry protests these pricing restrictions, NPPA is pushing the DoP to amend the Drug Pricing Control Order to give more room for the NPPA to regulate prices. Business Standard