Intraocular lenses used in cataract surgeries are being sold at a rate that is 10 times higher than the market price, Food and Drug Administration officials said in a report presented to the department of pharmaceuticals.
Consumers are charged Rs8,000 for an intraocular lens brand, which has a cost of landing of Rs800. Another brand that costs Rs 7,000, is being sold for Rs11,350.
Last week, officials had revealed that inflating MRP for catheters earned more than 500%.
After the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority capped the prices of cardiac stents, authorities like the FDA, the legal metrology department and non-government organisations have demanded a price cap on other medical devices too. FDA officials said that they had sent the report with the investigation report on balloons (used to inflate the artery to insert stents in angioplasty) and guiding catheters (a thin tube used to guide stents through arteries).
RPY Rao, president of SACR, said that along with intraocular lenses and catheters, orthopedic implants, dental implants and ophthalmic medication should be incorporated into the National Essential Medicines List (NLEM).
"Eye drops and injections are sold 500-1,200 percent above the cost of manufacturing and some products like Dexamethansone, used to treat short-term inflammatory eye conditions, are sold at Rs35,000. It is best to bring them to All under NLEM with a single circular, "Rao said.
