NPPA to study access of medicine at affordable prices, invites proposal

New Delhi: The apex price regulator authority, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has invited a proposal for conducting a study on "the drug policies of different countries to access medicine at affordable prices".

For the same the NPPA has released a public notice inviting tenders in the form of Request for Proposal (RFP) for conducting the study entitled as "To study the drug pricing policies of different countries/ region and lessons learnt from these countries/ regions in terms of access to medicine at affordable prices."

The tenders are invited from reputable organizations or research institutions to undertake a study and the interested firms/institutes. The scope was explained in detail in the request of the proposal (RFP) released by the NNPA. The agency will be chosen utilizing the technical and financial bids by the RFP's Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) approach.

According to the request for proposal notice, the last date for seeking study clarification is February 7, 2022, at 5 p.m., the last date and time for submitting the bid (technically and financially) is February 22, 2022, at 3 p.m. The date for presentation by shortlisted bidders is March 1, 2022, and the opening of the financial bid is March 4, 2022. As per the RFP, the bidder will have deposit Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) as Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) before due date

As per the terms of reference given in the invitation letter the objectives of assessment studies are to understand the drug pricing methodology adopted in the international market and to understand the lessons learnt or best practices from various countries or regions in terms of availability and affordability of medicine. The scope of work is to examine regulatory policy or frameworks on drug pricing in at least ten countries, to examine the operational implementation of drug pricing policies in various countries and identify best practices or lessons learned, and to examine other policy aspects that affect the availability and affordability of medicine in these countries. Minimum ten countries/regions that should be covered are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The researcher will primarily rely on secondary data and other publicly available information, as well as interviews with foreign missions/focus group discussions, international drug exporters, relevant trade and industry associations, and manufacturers to obtain their thoughts and opinions. This process is intended to be illustrative, and bidders are free to add to it. The study's deliverables include 20 printed copies of the report and a digital copy, with the report should be generated in multicolour format and physical copies in multicolour and book bound form. In four months, the final report must be submitted. Aside from that, until the final submission of the report, the applicant must submit quarterly progress reports. Only when the report has been adopted by the NPPA will it be considered definitive.

"This study will be a great help for the low class and middle-class people where they can afford their medical needs." noted the NPPA

The interested institutes and firms can go through the link below for further information.

https://www.nppaindia.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/RFP-Study.pdf