-The Times of India The Medical Council of India has summoned about 300 doctors from across the country to Delhi to answer questions on an anonymous complaint that they had been bribed by a pharmaceutical firm. About 100 of these doctors appeared before MCI's ethics committee on Monday. According to the complaint, the Ahmedabad-based pharma company has been paying doctors lakhs of rupees as well as gifting them cars and flats and...

-DNA The Union government decision to decontrol prices of 108 drugs -- used to treat tuberculosis, AIDS, diabetes and heart ailments -- has jacked up their prices. In some cases, prices have seen an unbelievable rise. The price of Glivec, an anti-cancer tablet, for example, has risen from Rs 8,500 to Rs 1.08 lakh. Plavix, used to treat blood pressure and heart ailments, will cost Rs 1,615, against the earlier Rs 147. An...

-PTI The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has capped the prices of 43 formulation packs including drugs such as the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, BCG vaccine and the anti-diabetic metformin. "The prices have been fixed / revised in respect of 43 formulation packs, both ceiling and retail price packs, under DPCO, 2013," NPPA said. According to the drug price regulator the manufacturers selling the 43 drugs at maximum retail price higher than the ceiling price...

-The Business Standard A ray of hope for Indian generic drug makers Gilead Sciences, the California-headquartered biotechnology company, has authorised seven India-based drug makers - Cipla, Ranbaxy, Mylan, Strides Arcolab, Hetero, Cadila Healthcare and Sequent Scientific - to manufacture and sell the generic versions of its hepatitis C medicine, Sovaldi, in 91 developing countries. Earlier in the week, Lupin, the fourth largest Indian drug maker, announced that it will develop and supply...

-The Hindu A strong whistle-blower protection law in India would expose financial corruption in a way that reinforces ethical business practices In 2013, generic pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to seven criminal felonies for drug manufacturing fraud and agreed to cough up an unprecedented $500 million in fines. The case against Ranbaxy was significant not only for being a successful prosecution of a powerful India corporation. It also marked the triumph of Dinesh...