Cipla Plans To Provide Low-Cost Drugs To Ayushman Bharat: Report

Mumbai, 18 Dec 2019:

Cipla Ltd plans to provide low-cost drugs to hospitals under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, and will discuss the process with the nodal agency, according to a report in Business Standard today.

However, Ayushman Bharat chief executive officer Indu Bhushan said the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company has not contacted the nodal agency for the scheme yet.

"We have no tie-ups yet. This seems to be their intention, but we have had no discussion with Cipla on it," Bhushan said.

According to the newspaper report, Nikhil Chopra, Cipla's executive vice-president and head of India business, said the company plans to identify a list of antibiotics, painkillers, injectables, among others which the company may supply to Ayushman Bharat-empanelled hospitals.

Packaging of the medicines, targetted for the bottom of the pyramid, could be different from regular Cipla packaging, the report said.

The government's flagship health insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana under Ayushman Bharat was launched last year. The scheme aims to provide an annual health insurance of up to 5 lakh rupees to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. Livemint