NPPA chief transfer not unusual after a two-year term: Govt

NEW DELHI: HEALTH ACTIVISTS FEEL THAT PRESSURE FROM PHARMA AND MEDICAL DEVICES PLAYED A ROLE IN SINGH’S TRANSFER

The recent exit of the drug pricing watchdog’s chairman will not slow efforts to make healthcare more affordable, the minister of state in the department of pharmaceuticals said in an interview, playing down the transfer that followed caps on prices of cardiac stents and knee implants that upset the medical devices industry.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)) chairman Bhupendra Singh, who also highlighted profiteering by private hospitals, was transferred on 1 March to the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention in the cabinet secretariat, sparking outrage among health activists. Singh, who joined the Uttar Pradesh cadre of the Indian Administrative Service in 1985, had served as NPPA’s head since February 2016.

The transfer was effected as part of a reshuffle of senior civil servants. .

“There is nothing unusual in his transfer. The mandate of the NPPA is to regulate prices and it will continue,” said Mansukh L Mandaviya, minister of state , department of pharmaceuticals, ministry of chemicals and fertilisers. The NPPA is an independent regulatory body under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.

“We are hoping that the new chairman will be appointed this month. It is our commitment to make healthcare affordable and it will not get affected. Prices of around 800 formulations have been capped and whosoever joins will continue to work with the same vigour,” Mandaviya.

Health activists allege that pressure from pharma and medical devices played a role in the transfer of Singh, who declined to comment for this story.

As the NPPA chief, Singh slashed prices of coronary stents by 85% in February last year in a move to improve access to the life-saving devices.