Union Government brought 52 new drugs under National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) control to keep check on prices of essential medicines. The decision was notified by NPPA on 11 December 2014.
In an attempt to empower consumers and save them from paying more for medicines, the government is set to make it mandatory for chemists to mention in the bill whether they are selling a price-controlled product or not. Besides, the bill will also mention the price of the medicine as capped by the government. The majority of the new drugs involve basic painkillers, antibiotics and medicines used for ailing skin disorders and cancer.
The price capping of the medicines was based on the average of the costs of all drugs with over one per cent market share. With the move, the government ensures the improvement of medicinal affordability.
NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL PRICING AUTHORITY (NPPA)
- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority is a regulatory body handled by the government to bring the costs of pharmaceutical drugs under control
- It is also endowed with the task of recovering overcharged amounts by manufacturers from the consumer for the controlled drugs
- It also monitors drug shortages and the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels
- It collects or maintains data of exports and imports, production, profitability, market share of individual companies, etc for bulk drugs and formulations.