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Government plans to examine current drug pricing controls

 

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The government plans to examine current drug pricing controls to make medicines more affordable, while undertaking a "reengineering" of the NPPA price regulator to provide greater transparency with respect to industry claims Of the arbitrary implementation of the policy.  It established a panel of joint Secretaries of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Secretary of the NPPA and the India Comptroller General for Drugs (DGCI) , Among others, to recommend measures to make medicines more affordable.

The panel will recommend detailed standard operating protocols for the regulatory functions identified, such as drug prices, monitoring and enforcement activities, and measures against pharmaceutical companies in cases of overestimation.

The terms of reference of the group, which held their first meeting, included measures to make policies more favorable to poor patients, affordable health insurance and safety, said DoP in a notification. In March of this year, Minister of State for Chemicals Mansukh L Mandaviya stated in a written response to the Lok Sabha that since its inception the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has published 1,527 An overhead on the sales of formulations at the above prices the notified ceiling price.

Earlier, expressing concern over the future of the pharmaceutical industry in India, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) stated that pharmaceutical companies have become a victim of an "unbridled turf war" between the Department of Pharma and the NPPA drug price regulator.

 

In its notification, DoP added that the committee will also examine the scope of the 2013 Drug Price Control Order (DPCO 2013) and propose ways to strengthen the regulatory provisions of the order and make it more complete The past experience of its implementation. The notification also indicated that the group could also consult with other government agencies, officials, industry and civil society representatives in the interest of a more effective DPCO.

In explaining the rationale for the step, DoP stated that it has received various requests, representations, including from NPPA, pharmaceutical industry associations and other stakeholders suggesting improvements in the provisions of DPCO 2013 on the basis of experience gained during its implementation.

"At the first meeting of the committee, it was decided to invite comments, suggestions from all stakeholders, including civil societies / NGOs," the notification added.

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