NPPA Approves 50 percent Price Increase of 8 essential drugs, details
Delhi: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has announced a 50% increase in the ceiling prices of eleven scheduled formulations of eight essential drugs. This decision, made during the Authority’s full meeting on 8th October 2024, invokes extraordinary powers under Para 19 of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013,
As per the government, the move is aimed at ensuring a continued availability of critical medicines required for public health and comes in response to various industry applications citing increased production costs, including higher Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) costs, currency exchange fluctuations, and other factors affecting sustainability.
The price revisions apply to low-cost drugs crucial for treating conditions like asthma, glaucoma, thalassemia, tuberculosis, and mental health disorders, which are widely used as treatments in India’s public health programmes. Key drugs affected include Benzyl Penicillin, Atropine injection, Streptomycin powder, Salbutamol, Pilocarpine drops, Cefadroxil, Desferrioxamine, and Lithium tablets.
" The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) i tasked with ensuring that essential medicines are available at affordable prices, while maintaining access to these drugs. Price regulation should not result in the unavailability of these critical medications needed to meet the country’s public health demands," the government release said
"NPPA has been receiving applications from the manufacturers for upward revision of prices citing various reason like increased cost of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients; increase in the cost of production; change in exchange rate etc.; resulting in unviability in sustainable production and marketing of drugs. Companies have also applied for discontinuation of some of the formulations on account of their unviability," the release elaborated
After detailed deliberations in the full Authority meeting held on 8th October, 2024, invoking extraordinary powers under Para 19 of the DPCO, 2013, and in larger public interest, NPPA has approved increase in the ceiling prices of eleven (11) scheduled formulations of eight (8) drugs by 50% of their current ceiling prices. Most of these drugs are low-cost and generally used as first line treatment crucial to the public health programmes of the country. These drugs are used for treatment of Asthma, Glaucoma, Thalassemia, Tuberculosis, mental health disorders, etc.
Formulations for which Ceiling prices have been revised include:
- Benzyl Penicillin 10 lakh IU injection;
- Atropine injection 06.mg/ml;
- Streptomycin powder for injection 750 mg and 1000 mg;
- Salbutamol tablet 2 mg and 4 mg and respirator solution 5 mg/ml;
- Pilocarpine 2% drops;
- Cefadroxil tablet 500 mg,
- Desferrioxamine 500 mg for injection;
- Lithium tablets 300 mg.
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