PRICE CAP ON DRUG STENTS OPPOSED

The decision of the Union government bringing drug-eluting stents under Schedule 1 of the Drug Price Control Order 2013 has met with stiff resistance from the medical devices industry. Industry representatives said the decision would affect patients.

Drug eluting stents have a polymer coating over the mesh that releases a drug over a period of time to prevent blocks from recurring in the arteries. These stents are used during angioplasty on patients who report with blockages.

Drug-eluting stents are used in 93 per cent of the patients, as its treatment outcomes are good. Each of these stents costs `1.5 lakh apiece, against `50,000 for a metal stent. In a bid to control the prices, the government is planning to bring down the price of drugeluting stents to `25,000.

The medical devices industry said this would hamper evolution of the sector. “Innovative and vital life-saving drugs must not be brought under the broad brush of drug rules as it will not serve the purpose,” a senior member of the association said. “We have already agreed to the CGHS for an approved rate of `25,000 for the state and Central government reimbursement schemes. We want the government to use scientific rationale in the decision-making,” he said.

The government has received complaints that 20 per cent of the patients who were operated upon did not require angioplasties.