Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4916

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Mukherjee R.
Essential drugs may become cheaper.
The Times of India 2006 May 20
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1539385.cms

Keywords:
prices

Notes:

Peter Mansfield’s comments:
The Indian government is considering extending price control to cover more drugs. Like most drugs, most policies have unintended effects. Selective price control of essential drugs may reduce prices but also reduce availability. It may lead to drug promotion being focused on non-essential drugs.

Full text:

Essential drugs may become cheaper
by Rupali Mukherjee
Saturday, May 20, 2006 TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: Essential drugs may become cheaper once the Cabinet approves chemical ministry’s proposal of bringing more medicines under price control.

The proposal which is part of the draft Cabinet note, is also in consonance with the objective of Common Minimum Programme, and a SC directive to reduce prices of essential drugs.

With more drugs added to the existing list of price-controlled medicines, nearly 32% of the domestic pharmaceutical market will be under price control.

This is because the ministry has proposed to continue price control on all the 74 drugs which are under Drug Price Control Order (1995).

Also, a majority of the 354 drugs specified under National List of Essential Medicines will be brought under price control, as per the existing cost-based method.

At present under price control some of the common formulations include – Insulin, Erthyromycin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Aspirin, Penicillins, Ibuprofen, Analgin, Tetracycline, and others.

“Patented drugs, imported by firms, will be subject to price negotiations before introduced in market,“sources said.

A lower price will be determined for public health system and poor people. While, some non-patented imported drugs will be subject to a price ceiling, rest of them will be subject to a stringent monitoring mechanism.

In other words, consumers can look forward to a reduction in their medical bills, if the proposal is cleared by Cabinet.

Availability and affordability of drugs, especially for poor people, will also improve with the government planning to streamline their bulk purchase, they added.