According to a gazette notification, the retail price of anti-rabies immunoglobulin has been raised to ₹119.48 per millilitre (ml), a 6.49 per cent increase from the earlier price of ₹112.19 per ml.
The revision follows the NPPA’s announcement in March this year of a 0.65 per cent increase in the prices of drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines, based on changes in the wholesale price index.
The retail prices fixed by the authority at its 148th meeting cover a wide range of medicines, including those used to treat hypertension, diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus, heart disease, and eye infections, to make them more affordable for patients.
Similarly, the retail price of eye drops containing nepafenac and moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution has been fixed at ₹68.64 per ml.
The NPPA notification also said that any manufacturer or marketing company failing to comply with the notified retail prices would be required to deposit the overcharged amount, along with applicable interest, under the relevant provisions.
The fixation and revision of ceiling and retail prices is a routine exercise undertaken by the NPPA, which is tasked with enforcing the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), regulating both controlled and decontrolled drug prices, and ensuring the affordability of essential medicines.
Biological E vax gets a price-cap antidote
The pharmaceutical pricing authority has granted a five-year exemption from price control to Pneubevax 14, India’s first 14-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine, manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E.
The NPPA granted the exemption, saying that the formulation met the requirements of Paragraphs 32(i) and 32(ii) of the DPCO, 2013, and was covered under a granted patent.
Under Paragraphs 32(i) and 32(ii) of the DPCO, 2013, the provisions of the price control order do not apply for five years from the date of commencement of commercial production in India to a manufacturer producing a new drug patented under the Indian Patents Act, 1970, that is not produced elsewhere and has been developed through indigenous research and development.
The authority has asked Biological E to share the dates of commercial production and commercial marketing of the vaccine in India, along with the price to retailer and the maximum retail price fixed by the company.
It also directed the drugmaker to either comply with the notified ceiling price or seek retail price approval three months before the expiry of the exemption for the pneumococcal vaccine.
