MNCs, domestic firms at odds over stent pricing

MNCs say any special price for stents should be granted on clinical proof of the products being superior

A meeting on stent pricing on Tuesday turned into a battle between multinational companies and domestic manufacturers. A stent is a a long thin object put inside a tube in the body, for example a blood vessel, so that its walls stay firm or so that body fluids can flow easily through it.

At a meeting called by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), representatives of multinational companies like Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Biotronik pressed for special pricing for ''next-generation'' stents. ''Multinationals want a higher MRP (maximum retail price) for next-generation stents,'' a source said.

Officials of the department of pharmaceuticals and representatives of the US-India Business Council and the medical devices industry attended the meeting. The demand by multinational companies did not go down well with domestic manufacturers of stents. The latter insisted NPPA set stent prices based on clinical trials rather than claims of superiority.

They argued that "next generation" was just a "marketing gimmick".

A source said the government was likely to decide on differential pricing based on clinical proof. Coronary stents came under the NPPA's price control regime after the government added it to the list of essential medicines in June 2016.