Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt may negotiate price of drugs before market entry -Sushmi Dey

Govt may negotiate price of drugs before market entry -Sushmi Dey

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jan 23, 2015   modified Modified on Jan 23, 2015
-The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The government may negotiate prices of patented medicines with their manufacturers before allowing pharmaceutical companies to launch them in India. The move, a first of its kind, is also likely to be applied on patented drugs that are already being sold in the country, an official source said.

An inter-ministerial committee, evaluating the mechanism to negotiate prices of patented medicines, has recently sought detailed information about such drugs from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which regulates prices of medicines in the country. This include data on number of patented medicines currently available in India, their market share, prices, disease burden, date of grant of patent and its expiry.

The move is significant because it is expected to bring down prices of many medicines mostly used in treatment of life threatening diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Presently, patented medicines are outside the ambit of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, which mandates a price cap on 348 essential medicines.

However, the government is concerned about prices of such medicines mainly because of the high disease burden in these therapeutic categories. Besides, in the absence of generic competition, patented drugs continue to remain expensive.

So far, pricing of medicines and their marketing approval are not linked and are being looked at by two separate government departments. While NPPA, under the ministry of chemicals & fertilizers, regulates prices of medicines, the health ministry does quality control and gives marketing approval through Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Once pricing is linked with marketing approval for patented medicines, it is bound to impact multinational pharmaceutical companies. Companies claim spending billions of dollars on research and development of innovative medicines. A patent period of 20 years allows such innovator companies a monopoly in the market, while the price of the drug remains high in the absence of generic competition.

The move also assumes significance in the light of the upcoming visit of the US President Barack Obama to India. According to sources, intellectual property rights (IPR), particularly in case of medicines, is going to be one of the topics on top of the agenda for talks between the two countries.

Of late, multinational companies such Novartis, Pfizer, Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche have been facing tough times in India seeking patent protection for some of their products. While the Supreme Court refused patent protection for Novartis' anti-cancer drug Glivec in April 2013, compulsory license was granted against Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar allowing generic drug makers to manufacture and sell the product against a royalty to the innovator firm. Recently, the Indian patent office rejected an application by Gilead seeking IPR protection for its blockbuster Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi.

Industry estimates show patented medicines currently constitute around 1% of the total Rs 87,000 crore domestic pharmaceutical market. However, this is gradually growing as companies are increasingly seeking patent protection in India. Government data shows as many as 970 pharmaceutical product patents were granted between 2007 and 2011, whereas the number has increased to around 1300 between 2011 and 2013.

Another committee, constituted earlier through a memorandum in February 2007, had suggested prices of patented drug be referenced to that of the UK, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. The price should then be adjusted by taking into account India's purchasing power parity, the committee recommended. However, the report was shelved in December 2013 with a view that market dynamics have changed over the years.

The new committee was set up in 2014 with representatives from various ministries including commerce, health and pharmaceuticals.


The Times of India, 23 January, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-may-negotiate-price-of-drugs-before-market-entry/articleshow/45986019.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close