The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), on December 18 announced that it has fixed the retail prices of 63 new drugs and two scheduled drugs following a meeting that was held on Friday. These new drugs include those which are used in the treatment of increased cholesterol, heart attacks, anaemia, type 2 diabetes, among other ailments.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the national drug pricing regulator said, “NPPA has fixed/revised ceiling prices or retail prices of 65 scheduled formulations under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.”
The move to put these new drugs under price control was made by the NPPA is meant to prevent the pharmaceutical companies from annually increasing the maximum retail price of these 65 drugs by 10 per cent.
Last month, in November, the NPPA had put a price cap on 51 essential drugs, which included medicines commonly used in the treatment of cancer, heart conditions and skin diseases. The prices of those drugs were slashed from 6 per cent to 53 per cent, in an effort to make healthcare affordable for patients.
In the latest notification released by the NPPA, the essential drugs for which the retail prices have been fixed include Roseday CV 10 at Rs 13.37, which is used to treat increased LDL levels, heart attack, and high cholesterol. Another drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, Ten20M1000, was also mentioned in the list of essential drugs at Rs 10.87. The price of Diclofenac Injection, which is used for pain management was also fixed at Rs 13.71, while a simple paracetamol tablet will now cost patients only Rs 3.15.
The list also included an immuno-suppressant known as Tacromilus capsule, sold by Intas Pharmaceuticals, which now cost organ transplant patients only Rs 10.82.
Despite repeated attempts to contact Bhupendra Singh, Chairman of the NPPA, he remained unavailable for comment.
