Pharma CEOs urge Centre to rationalise prices of essential drugs

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The pharma companies’ industry representatives urged the Centre to rationalise the pricing of various drugs enlisted under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) in view of the rising cost of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). The discussion took place in a meeting with officials of ministry of chemical and fertilisers at the Indian Pharma 2022.

The prices of API - the active ingredient contained in medicine - have spiked up due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and ‘the prices of drugs enlisted under the NLEM have remained same, which is burdening the pharma companies and we raised this issue with the officials,’ said a pharma company CEO requesting anonymity.

The NLEM is a list of over 800 drugs in India which includes essential drugs which are important in the treatment of bacterial infections, anti-anaemia, and vitamins.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), from April, has allowed a price hike for scheduled drugs, which are under price control under the NLEM.

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However, the Centre has ruled out price hike of essential medicine saying those medicines linked to WPI may see rise or fall automatically as per the WPI price movement.

‘These are drugs that are priced a few rupees and therefore, a 10 percent WPI increase may lead to the price rising by a few paise,’ Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.

FORMATION OF COMMITTEE

According to the sources privy to information, the government may form a committee in coming days to look into the demands by the pharma companies’ industry representatives.

The government has in the past, given a one-time exception and we told the officials to consider the same for us this time, said a pharma CEO not wishing to be named.

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While the government officials said a committee may be formed on this matter, profit making should not be a criterion for the pharma companies, he added.

EXPEDITING DRUG APPROVAL

According to a pharma company representative, the issue of fast pacing the approval of non-covid drug was also discussed in the meeting with officials of the Chemical and Pharma Ministry.

"We informed the officials that there are several red tapes involved in which clearances are needed from several ministries," a pharma company executive said.

The officials from the ministry stressed on the formation of a sub-committee which would be responsible for fast-tracking the approval process from several ministries, he further said.

The pharma companies’ representatives urged the government officials to reduce the compliance burden on pharma compliance, to which an assurance was given from the Chemical and Pharma Ministry’s officials.