Indian govt to penalize drugmakers for overcharging

In a major crackdown, India's drug price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued notices to 89 pharmaceutical companies for overcharging their medicines, taking the total number of cases since its inception to 1,018, for a whopping $563 million, reports The Pharma Letter's India correspondent.

At the start of 2014, drug companies owed the Indian government $482 million in penalties for overcharging, though a large chunk of the money continues to be suspended in litigation, with most drug majors hotly contesting the charges.

With only a fifth of the total drugs sold in the country, worth $12.30 billion, under price control, the rate regulator, under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, periodically revises prices to keep essential medicines affordable. These drugs include anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensives, antibiotics, pain killers, cough syrups and medicines that help cure surgical infections.