No proposal to extend price cap to other medical devices, says NPPA chief

Four products, including stents, are categorised as scheduled drugs and NPPA can cap their price

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) chairman Bhupendra Singh has said there was no proposal "as of now" to extend a price cap to other medical devices.

The government has categorised 22 medical devices as drugs. Among these, four products, including cardiac stents, are categorised as scheduled drugs and NPPA can cap their price under law. In respect of other devices such as catheters, heart valves and intra ocular devices (categorised as non-scheduled drugs), the government allows for a 10 per cent price hike in a year.

While the NPPA is monitoring the prices, fixing those for other devices is not on the