-Frontline The National Advisory Council recommendations seem to be making a strong case for a major role for the private sector in the delivery of health care. THE recommendations for universal health coverage drawn up by the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, push for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the health delivery system but not for any inbuilt mechanisms for accountability. The NAC also...
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New drug pricing creates artificial scarcity-Shyama Rajagopal
-The Hindu Kochi: An artificial scarcity of drugs looms large with the new drug pricing regime, slashing prices for 348 Essential drugs, set to prevail from July 29. Many retailers who stock medicines for a week are not picking up medicines and are keeping a minimum inventory. Some retailers said distributors were not making medicines available. It has sent medical retail stores into a tizzy about the fate of already available stocks. J.S....
More »Price control, IP Act & regulatory framework: Revisiting some imp issues about Indian pharma-Ramesh Adige
-The Economic Times Over a year ago, I had written a piece, Quo Vadis, Indian Pharma? (ET, May 11, 2012), in this column. Some key issues were highlighted in the article. Perhaps it is time to revisit the subject and bring out some current issues. Price control: Hurray, the department of pharmaceuticals has come out with a new non-intrusive price control methodology, moving from the cost-based model to the average market price...
More »Iron pills leave 200 Delhi schoolchildren ill, 21 in hospital -Raj Shekhar & Durgesh Nandan Jha
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A day after more than 20 schoolchildren died after eating a contaminated mid-day meal in Bihar's Chapra district, Delhi had its own scare when 21 kids had to be rushed to hospitals across the city after they were given iron and folic acid tablets during a government drive against anaemia. The children, aged 9 to 17, had severe stomach ache, nausea and vomiting on Wednesday -...
More »Drug makers suffer an overdose of control-Bhupesh Bhandari
-The Business Standard The new price caps for 191 Essential drugs are likely to introduce serious distortions in the market for these medicines The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, or NPPA, has announced new price caps for 191 Essential drugs that are 10 to 50 per cent lower than the current prices. Drug makers have 45 days to recall the earlier batches and send out new ones with the lower price tags. This...
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