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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Prices of 348 essential drugs to be controlled

Prices of 348 essential drugs to be controlled

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published Published on Nov 17, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 17, 2011

-The Times of India


The Centre on Thursday responded to the Supreme Court's concern over spiralling prices of essential medicines and promised to make all-out efforts to put under strict price control regime all the 348 drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2011.

A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya had, in the last hearing, expressed concern over the shrinking list of medicines under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) and had sought the Centre's response on bringing NLEM medicines under price control regime.

The government admitted that more than 300 drugs were under DPCO in the early 1980s which was subsequently reduced to 140 in 1987. At present, prices of only 74 bulk drugs and formulations containing any of these scheduled drugs are under price control regime, it said. Once a medicine is brought under DPCO, it cannot be sold at a price higher than that fixed by the government.

The ministry of health and family welfare had promised in an affidavit, "It is the considered view of the respondents that to make affordable healthcare a reality, all the medicines included in the NLEM, 2011 need to be brought within the ambit of price control, considering that cost of medicines constitutes over 60% of the total cost of healthcare."

NLEM has 348 medicines which cover 489 formulations, including 16 fixed dose combinations. These drugs are considered to be adequate to meet the common contemporary health needs of the general population of the country, the ministry said. "It would be the general obligation of the health administrators to ensure abundant availability of these drugs in the country," it said.

The bench agreed to give three months time to the government to fulfill its promise and posted the PIL filed by All India Drug Action Network for further hearing in January. However, it clarified, "Obviously, nobody would like prices of essential medicines to escalate in the name of new policy. We hope the government does not allow escalation of prices of essential medicines."

The health ministry admitted that there was a huge difference in the manufacturing cost of the drugs and their maximum retail price (MRP). "For the same medicines, there exists a huge difference in the prices of its branded version and its equivalent generic ones. Moreover, huge price differential also exists between different brands of the same medicine," it said.

It said the draft National Pharmaceutical Policy, 2006, was prepared by the Department of Pharmaceuticals keeping in view the Supreme Court's directions to enlarge the list of drugs under price control and to include all medicines contained in NLEM. "The draft policy is under consideration of the government," the ministry said.

The bench drew the government's attention to the high cost of treatment in the private sector and said, "If RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS were not there, 10% of patients would have faced critical times." It said the government must remain sensitive to the price mechanism keeping in mind the poor patients.


The Times of India, 18 November, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Prices-of-348-essential-drugs-to-be-controlled/articleshow/10774385.cms


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