NPPA caps prices of 39 drugs used for treating cancer, malaria

Drug price regulator NPPA on Wednesday said it has fixed the ceiling price for 39 more drug formulations, including those used for the treatment of cancer, tuberculosis, malaria and hepatitis B among others.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said while the ceiling price of 18 scheduled formulations has been fixed, that of 21 has been revised.

"The NPPA has fixed/revised ceiling prices of 39 scheduled formulations of Schedule-I under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013...," the regulator said in a notification.

With the latest price revision, the prices of around 821 formulations that are on the national list of essential medicines (NLEM) 2015, have been capped, the NPPA said in a tweet.

The steps are in continuation of the government's drive to make affordable quality medicines available to patients across the country.

According to a senior government official, the normal range of reduction is between 10-30 per cent.

The NPPA is mandated to fix/revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country.

It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.

The regulator implements and enforces the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order.

The regulator is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.