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50% price hike allowed for 21 drug formulations

Rohit Shishodia
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has allowed hike in the maximum retail prices of 21 formulations by 50%, which were under price control. The pricing regulator issued an order on December 13, 2019, to increase the prices of medicines which are used for critical diseases such as TB and various infections. The order was signed by PrasenJit Das, Assistant Director, NPPA.

According the NPPA order, most of the drugs whose prices have been hiked are used as first line of treatment and are crucial to the public health program of India.  

The decision to hike the prices of these formations was taken in a meeting held on December 9, 2019. Several rounds of meetings of experts’ panel consisting Advisor (Cost), NPPA, Advisor DGHS and Deputy Drug Controller were held to consider the matter before hiking the prices of these drugs.

The panel was constituted under the convenorship of Director, Pricing, NPPA on March 27, 2019.

The panel recommended that the NPPA should go ahead to hike the prices of these medicines. The pricing authority referred the matter to the Standing Committee on Affordable Medicines and Health Products (SCAMHP), Niti Aayog, Government of India for guidance on the modalities and methodologies which were followed for such cases. The committee too approved the hiking of the prices of medicines.

The NPPA stated that it had been receiving applications for upward price revision for last two years citing various reasons like increase in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) cost, increase in cost of production and exchange rates, which was resulting in unavailability in sustainable production and marketing of the drugs.

The NPPA stated that twenty one scheduled formulations considered for upward price revision under para 19 of DPCO 2013 are low priced drugs and have been under repeated price control.

According to the NPPA, many companies had applied for discontinuation of the product on account of unavailability citing low price.

“It is the mandate of NPPA to ensure availability of drugs at affordable prices. It was noted that while ensuring affordability, access cannot be jeopardized and the life saving essential drugs must remain available to the general public at all times,” stated the NPPA.

“Therefore, the NPPA is of the considered view that unviability of these formulations should not lead to a situation, where these drugs become unavailable in the market and the public is forced to switch to costly alternatives,” adds the NPPA.

The drug formulations whose prices have been hiked include BCG vaccine for tuberculosis, vitamin C, antibiotics like metronidazole and benzylpenicillin, anti-malarial drug chloroquine and leprosy medication dapsone.


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