India's NPPA to slash prices of key drugs by up to half

In India, some key cancer drugs, antibiotics and medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases and tuberculosis are set to become cheaper by up to 50% within the next 45 days. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will shortly notify prices of as many as 150 packs of essential medicines in line with the new pharma pricing policy, according to official sources quoted by the Indian newspaper the Business Standard.

Once the new price notification is in place, the maximum retail prices (MRPs) of many cancer drugs will fall 10%-30% on average, and some as much as 50%. Similarly, prices of cardiovascular drugs will come down 20%-30%, while those specifically used as anti-hypertension medicines will be reduced 15%-30%. According to an official, prices of antibiotics will see a major change. “The range of price cut in antibiotics will be 15%-50%, depending on strength,” he said. For instance, the MRP of paracetamol, a key analgesic used for pain relief, would drop 25%-55%. While paracetamol injection will get 25% cheaper, prices of syrups and tablets will fall 35% and 55%, respectively.

These prices, notes the Business Standard, are calculated on the basis of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013, recently notified by the government in line with the new pharma pricing policy cleared by the government last year. The DPCO mandates NPPA to cap prices of 348 essential medicines based on an arithmetic average of all drugs in a particular segment that have market share of more than one per cent. However, the drugs currently priced below the cap would not be allowed to raise prices to match the cap. This is significant as the new formula does not allow prices to go up from the current level.