Usha Sharma – Mumbai
Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (SSI) CIPI will hold a day-long closed door meeting with all its executive committee members on June 30 in Hyderabad. The aim of this meeting is to review the DPCO 2013 (Drug Price Control Order) and find a solution to deal with the logistical issue of recalling and relabeling product packs to meet the set deadline of 45 days.
On May 15, 2013, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) had identified 348 essential drugs under DPCO 2013 list. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is working on fixing the ceiling prices of these drugs.
As of date, NPPA has notified the fixed/revised prices of 283 formulation packs out of the total 348 essential drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). As per these NPPA notifications, manufacturers should ensure that the MRP on formulation packs manufactured before the price change order, are priced below the specified ceiling price within 45 days from the date of notification.
Commenting on the core agenda behind conducting this meeting, TS Jaishankar, Chairman, CIPI said, “As per DPCO 2013, we need to lower the prices of medicines which fall under DPCO 2013 and adopt the new prices. We are happy with the decision of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Department of Pharmaceuticals and in principle accept the market-based formula. However, we are finding it difficult to recall existing product packs already in the market. The government has given us only 45 days and recalling products from the market within this stipulated time period is a costly affair.”
He continued, “Initially, we thought that the Ministry would consider our issues and give us additional time to withdraw these product packs. But the Ministry is firm on its decision. Practically, it is not possible to recall the formulation packs available in the market from lakhs of retailers. The re-labeling process also will take time therefore one needs to focus on the logistic aspect as well. We have already lost enough time trying to get an extension and hence are left with less time. In the planned meeting, we will discuss all these issues and try to resolve this issue as this needs to get resolved before the implementation date.”
In its representation to the Ministry, CIPI requested that the ceiling price as notified by the Government or the revised prices, should not be made applicable to unsold stock lying in the market prior to the date of the notification. CIPI’s request was that price control order should be applicable to batches of scheduled formulations manufactured after the date of the notification. This was rejected by the Ministry and hence smaller manufacturers find themselves racing across the clock to comply to meet the deadline.
