Retail prices of key medicines fixed

NEW DELHI: India’s drug pricing authority has fixed the retail prices of several essential medicines that include widely prescribed painkillers and antibiotics, and drugs to treat type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure, according to people familiar with the matter.

The retail price of 84 drug formulations has been fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the apex drugs pricing regulatory authority under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers. The medicines include the anti-type 2 diabetic drug metformin, painkillers ibuprofen and diclofenac, and antibiotics amoxycillin and cefixime, among others.

Last week, the government gazette notified the details of price control. “In exercise of the powers conferred by paragraphs 5, 11 and 15 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, read with S.O. 1394(E) dated the 30th May, 2013 and S. O. 701(E) dated 10th March, 2016 issued by the Government of India in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority hereby fixes, the price as specified in column (6) of the table herein below as the retail price, exclusive of Goods and Services Tax, if any, in relation to the formulation specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Table with the strength, unit and name of manufacturer & marketing company, as specified,” read the NPPA notification signed by deputy director Prasenjit Das.

The prices are applicable only to the individual manufacturer or marketer mentioned in the notification. The drugmakers include Sun Pharma, Alkem, Zydus Healthcare, Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Glenmark Pharmaceutical, Torrent, Hetero, Micro Labs, and others.