Parliamentary panel reviews price spike of medicines

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers reviewed the prices of essential medicines on 7 January in a meeting attended by officials from the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). This move may lead to a lowering of prices of life-saving medicines.

The union government announced a 50% hike in the price of essential drugs, as approved by the National Pharmaceutical Price Authority (NPPA) last October. “There was a review briefing by the representatives of the department of pharmaceuticals to the Parliamentary panel on price rise of medicines in the pharmaceutical sector impacting the lives of ordinary citizens adversely," said an official aware of the matter. “The department deliberated the steps taken by them in ensuring the availability of affordable and good quality medicines, consumable and medical devices to the people.

For instance, the ceiling prices of 37 formulations have been fixed in the current calendar year, retail prices of 440 new drugs have been fixed in current calendar year," said the official adding that ceiling prices of 131 anti-cancer formulations are effective. While the prices of the medicines are regulated by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the Department of Pharmaceuticals is responsible for promotion of the pharmaceutical industry. It also works to augment the production and supply of essential drugs and medical devices in the country.