Abbott likely to withdraw high-end stents

Any drug brought under price control can be withdrawn after providing 6-month notice to NPPA

Abbott, market leader in premium cardiac stents, may withdraw its products from India following the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s (NPPA’s) order to cap prices last week. 

NPPA set a price cap of Rs 7,260 on bare metal stents and Rs 29,600 on drug eluting and biodegradable ones.

“Abbott may withdraw its Xience Alpine and its dissolving stent, Absorb,” said a distributor on the basis of informal communication. Abbott’s dissolving stent was priced at a little less than Rs 2 lakh before the price cap and the import price was Rs 42,125. 

"Abbott does not comment on market speculation," said a company spokesperson in response to a query.  The company has recalled all new-generation stents in the Xience family, attributing this to re-labelling following the NPPA order. “Abbott continues to market its full range of coronary stents in India. We have also advised trade and hospital partners to abide by the ceiling prices,” the spokesperson added.

According to the provisions in the Drug Price Control Order, 2013, any drug brought under price control can be withdrawn from the market after providing a six-month notice to NPPA. 

With the capping of prices, distributors are re-negotiating their margins with stent manufacturers. Their margins may be squeezed to 6 per cent from 16 per cent.

Multinational drug companies had lobbied for differential prices based on the superiority of their stents. 

The NPPA, in its order had said, “It was found that huge unethical markups are charged at each stage in the supply chain of coronary stents, resulting in irrational, restrictive and exorbitant prices in a failed market system driven by information asymmetry between patients and doctors.” 

The central government has brought state drug regulators on board to ensure there is no shortage of stents.