Industry protests at new drug and devices price controls in India

The Indian government is on the war path again. The Department of Pharmaceuticals is looking to change the method of approving prices of new drugs, despite a clear division in its ranks about amending the drug price control order, in a move that would bring non-essential drugs under price control, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

In a proposal that relates to doing away with retail prices for drugs and including ceiling prices for new drugs, the move has the potential to reduce competition and compromise growth in the drug sector, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance has said.

Miffed at India’s efforts to cap prices of drugs as well as on medical devices, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), an American trade association representing big medical technology companies including Abbott, Boston Scientific and Medtronic, has made a representation to the US Trade Representative (USTR) demanding partial or full suspension or withdrawal of India’s benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences.