Usha Sharma – Mumbai
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised the price of 154 drug formulation packs and reduced the price of 80 drugs from the existing level. Reductions range from 0.12 per cent to 37.76 per cen t. The ceiling prices h ave been fixed for 138 drug formulations, which are applicable to all manufacturers. Company-specific non-ceiling prices have been fixed in case of 16 drug formulation packs. While this move may provide relief to consumers, it may hamper the growth of India’s pharma industry.
N R Munjal, Vice Chairman, Pharmexcil and Vice Chairman cum Managing Director, Ind-Swift Laboratories said, “There is no transparency in the entire system implemented by the Government. Fixing of drug prices under Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO) is entirely their own decision. The Government has not involved any association or pharma companies while fixing the price. We do not know from where they have obtained the data and checked its accuracy. They have also ignored the actual cost of the medicine which involves many factors like cost of excipients, APIs, dollar conversion rate, manufacturing costs, employee salaries, utility cost, infrastructure costs and many more factors.”
NPPA has not increased the price of any insulin formulations. It is pertinent to state that the major manufacturers/importers of diabetic drug insulin, such as Eli Lilly, Cadila and Lupin, Biocon etc applied for upward revision in the retail price of insulin. However, keeping in mind the larger interest of the consumers, the price of insulin formulations have been maintained at the existing level by suitably adjusting the profit margin in order to ensure the abundant availability of insulin formulations at reasonable prices.
The prices were fixed in respect of derivative formulations of the bulk drugs namely, Aspirin with rosuvastatin (cardiovascular), cefotaxime (antibacterial), chlorpromazine with combination (antipsychotic), Vitamin E (Tocopheryl) (Vitamin E supplement), streptomycin with penicillin (antibiotic), norfloxacin (antibacterial), Vitamin C with combination (Vitamin C supplement and antioxidant), sulphadoxine with combination (antimalarial), dexamethasone with combination (anti-inflamatory), multivitamin with Vitamin C (Vitamin supplement) and insulin formulations etc.
The price of 33 drug formulations have been fixed for the first time. Keeping the consumer interest in mind, there was no price increase in 17 drug s. Munjal highlighted the fact that inspite of the actual cost of manufacturing medicines being 10 times higher when calculated on an annual basis, the Government decreases it.
In case of 24 drugs, prices have been increased ranging from 0.64 per cent to 31.40 per cent to accommodate the unavoidable increase in input raw material cost, conversion cost, packing charges and packing material norms in order to ensure availability of essential drugs to consumers. In absolute terms, the price reduction ranges from Rs 0.04 to Rs 3.52 per pack.
The drug formulation containing Vitamin C and its derivatives have been revised on a suo-moto basis to pass on the benefit of reduction in bulk drug prices to consumers as manufacturers failed to send price revision application to NPPA within the stipulated time period of 30 days as per DPCO, 1995. In these cases, the price have been reduced ranging from 0.12 per cent to 37.76 per cent than the existing price resulting in lower prices for Vitamin C formulations which will benefit the consumers at a large.
The revised prices have been fixed strictly as per the provisions of DPCO 1995 and guidelines in this regard. The revised price lists are to be issued by the manufacturers/importers under sub paragraph (3) of paragraph 14 of the DPCO, 1995 and the compliance should be reported to the government/ NPPA, State Drug Control Authorities and distributors, wholesalers and retailers or any other agent.
Raising concerns Munjal mentions, “We will protest against this Government notification. Due to price fixation there will be a short supply of drugs in the market. Pharma companies may stop manufacturing or reduce its supply from the mar ket as no company would like to run at a loss. In the long-term, Indian consumers will have to pay more to multinational pharma companies.”
