-Economic and Political Weekly The decision to reduce the powers of the drug pricing body goes against the interest of public health. The decision of the Government of India to withdraw the power of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to set price controls on drugs that are not on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) raises questions on the Narendra Modi regime's commitment to people's welfare. One must ask if...
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Drug price tug of war: people vs others -S Srinivasan
-The Hindu Business Line The media have got it wrong on price control reversal Recently, there has been a flutter in various media channels and newspapers as to how the Modi Government has reversed certain drug price control measures announced in July 2014. As a result, we are told, prices of these drugs would increase much more than pre-July levels. This was supposed to be a sequel to Modi's visit to the...
More »SC agrees on urgent hearing of drug price plea
-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today agreed to take up "as early as possible" a plea challenging a recent NDA government decision that is alleged to have paved the way for a sharp rise in the prices of life-saving drugs. Petitioner Manohar Lal Sharma, a lawyer, has demanded a CBI probe into a September 22 government order that he says frees a list of medicines from pricing control. His public interest plea alleges...
More »Cancer drug price goes up from Rs 8,000 to Rs 1.08 lakh -Iftikhar Gilani
-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...
More »Drug price reins off before Modi’s US trip -GS Mudur
-The Telegraph New Delhi: A government agency has blocked its own pledge to impose price control on more medicines by withdrawing guidelines that it had used in July this year to cap prices of drugs used to treat diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has withdrawn the guidelines issued under Paragraph 19 of the Drug Price Control Order that it had used in July this year to cap...
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