Prices of 384 essential medicines may see one-time increase as input costs surge

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The Centre is weighing an emergency, one-time increase in prices of around 300 essential medicines as the West Asia war disrupts supplies of petrochemical-based pharmaceutical inputs and drives up manufacturing costs, according to two government officials and two industry executives.The increase, which is being discussed between the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), and the commerce ministry, would be rolled back once supply chains stabilize, they said.The medicines under discussion include antibiotics and anti-infectives (amoxicillin, azithromycin), cardiac drugs (amlodipine, atorvastatin), and analgesics (paracetamol), besides other essential and life-saving formulations such as steroids (dexamethasone) and vitamins (ascorbic acid) that are dependent on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients and petrochemical-based solvents.“A proposal has come from the industry to the government regarding this pricing, and the government is reviewing the matter,” one of the two officials cited above said, requesting anonymity.“Indian Drugs Manufacturing Association (IDMA) is in dialogue with the government for getting some temporary relief under Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO), in order to ensure a balance between the industry concerns and patients’ needs,” said Dr.

Viranchi Shah, national spokesperson and immediate past national president at IDMA, which has over 1,200 member companies.The proposal would mark a rare intervention in India’s tightly regulated drug pricing regime and is aimed at preventing supply disruptions of critical medicines, the people cited earlier said.Annual price increases for scheduled drugs are linked