-The Indian Express Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit is likely to throw up highly contentious intellectual property rights issues. Indeed, for the last several years, US drug majors and their European counterparts have lobbied hard to demonise the Indian patent regime. But the government must continue to defend the law and stand its ground. Particularly since our own industrial moguls have caved in and are less vocal about their opposition...

-The Hindu Business Line Fate of 108 drugs brought under price control in July still unclear In a booster for pharmaceutical companies, the Government has ensured that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) no longer enjoys sweeping powers to control drug prices. The NPPA on Tuesday withdrew the guidelines it issued on May 29 that allowed the Authority to control drug prices in public interest. Based on this, it had subsequently capped prices...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: In a move that will disappoint many patients, the government has withdrawn certain powers of the drug pricing regulator that allowed it to cap prices of widely prescribed anti-diabetes, cancer, HIV, tuberculosis and cardiac medicines. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said it is withdrawing "with immediate effect" - a guideline that had allowed it to put price caps on crucial medicines - to comply with a...

-The Times of India A new self regulatory code of conduct for doctors and hospitals, in the process of being formulated, could hold investors and members on the boards of medical establishments responsible for unethical practices in the establishment such as giving cuts to doctors and diagnostic facilities or taking bribes from pharmaceutical companies. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Association of Hospital Providers of India (AHPI) have constituted a joint...

-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...