New Delhi
In an effort to fix the ceiling prices of 56 drug formulations, including those for epilepsy, diabetes and heart diseases, the government has given drug makers and marketing firms a week to furnish their prices-to-retailer and MAT for August 2015. The formulations also includes those targeting bipolar disorder, dietary supplements, anticoagulants, HIV/AIDS, drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said in a statement. “All the concerned manufacturers/ marketing companies are requested to furnish the price-to-retailer and moving annual turnover (MAT) in value terms for the month of August 2015, with in seven days…” it said in a memorandum dated April 4. The information is required so that NPPA is able to fix the ceiling prices in a transparent manner, it added. At present, the government caps prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than one percent. Besides, the government regulates prices of all other medicines and companies are allowed to hike prices of such drugs by only up to 10 percent in a year. The government had notified DPCO, 2013, which covers 680 formulations, with effect from May 15, 2014, replacing the 1995 order that regulated prices of only 74 bulk drugs. Set up in 1997, NPPA has been entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharma products, enforcement of provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order and monitoring of prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs.
