NPPA increases stent prices by around 2% effective Saturday

Drug price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), has increased price of stents by around 2 per cent effective on Saturday after taking into account wholesale price index.

The prices of bare metal stents have gone up to Rs 7,400 from the earlier announced prices of Rs 7,260.

Similarly, price of drug-eluting stent has increased to Rs 30,180 from Rs 29,600 earlier.

In February, the NPPA brought stents under price control and capped ceiling price of coronary stents at Rs 7,260 for bare metal stent and Rs 29,600 for drug-eluting ones.

The corresponding average MRPs before the price control stood at Rs 45,100 and Rs 1.21 lakh, respectively.

NPPA has also fixed ceiling price of 46 drug formulations used for various ailments including hepatitis B, HIV and tuberculosis.

"NPPA has fixed/revised ceiling prices of 46 scheduled formulations of Schedule-I under Drugs (Price Control) Amendment Order," the regulator said in a statement.

The government fixes the prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1 per cent.

Besides, it regulates the prices of all other medicines, while companies are allowed to hike prices of such drugs by up to 10 per cent in a year.

The government had notified DPCO, 2013, which covers 680 formulations, with effect from May 15, 2014, replacing the 1995 order that regulated prices of only 74 bulk drugs.