Govt expands committee for drug and medical device pricing reforms, includes more industry representation

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

The committee now includes special invitees from the industry including director general of Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), managing director, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), industry representatives like Medical Technology Association of India (MTal), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), forum coordinator of Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMed), Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs (FOPE), among others.
The committee will evaluate the availability of medicines and medical devices, the pricing of essential medicines while providing incentives to the industry to maintain growth and build sustainability in exports. The committee will soon start consultations with the industry experts and associations of both medicines and medical devices, people in the know told ET.

The final decision will, however, rest with the government. The committee will consist of three core members including the secretary, department of pharmaceuticals, chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and senior economic adviser, department of pharmaceuticals. The committee will see how to balance price and availability of essential medicines, while providing incentives to the industry to sustain growth and exports. It will also look into institutional reforms within the NPPA.

It will also look into designing a price moderation framework for medical devices, while providing incentives to the industry to sustain growth and minimise imports.