India in the throes of anti-diabetic drug price war as its regulator fixes prices

30 May 2022

As Januvia/Janumet (sitagliptin), a Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) drug, nears patent expiry, India's drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed the prices of fixed-dose combinations of several anti-diabetic drugs with a 50% reduction on the patented component in a move set to increase the price war in India's $2.3 billion anti-diabetic drugs market. Howls of protest have followed the move, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

The NPPA received several representations from the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and German pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim against the retail price fixing of new drugs and that of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of linagliptin and metformin tablets as well as sitagliptin and metformin tablets.

The patent rights of linagliptin are set to expire on July 2025, and those of sitagliptin in July 2022, according to the NPPA.

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