Pharma ind hails survey recommendation on drug prices
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jul 02, 2009, 21:25 IST
Pharmaceutical industry has welcomed the suggestion of economic survey tabled today in the Parliament, which mentions decontrolling the prices of drugs in the country.
"Intrusive price control has always resulted in manufacturers moving away from price controlled products. Therefore, what is enunciated in the Economic Survey, is a step forward in the right direction," Ranbaxy President Ramesh Adige told PTI.
Intense competition in the Indian pharmaceutical industry has led to almost all drugs being available at the lowest possible price in the world, he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) Executive Director Gajanan Wakankar said, economic survey's recommendation is a progressive thinking as excess price control on medicines may result into drugs vanishing from the market.
This has happened in past also. The most effective way of controlling the prices is to increase the competition and removal of bottlenecks which led to the increase in prices, Wakankar said.
The Economic Survey has called for decontrolling of drug prices and limiting the checks only to essential drugs, which have less than five producers.
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