Drug companies get nod to raise prices; insulin, multivitamin syrups dearer

Prices of antibiotic doxycycline, multivitamin syrups and human insulin brands are expected to go up by 15 to 25% shortly. The drug price controller, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, has permitted drug companies to raise prices of 285 kinds of packaged drugs.

Written by Soma Das

March 17, 2009 23:23 IST

Prices of antibiotic doxycycline, multivitamin syrups and human insulin brands are expected to go up by 15 to 25% shortly. The drug price controller, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), has permitted drug companies to raise prices of 285 kinds of packaged drugs.

The NPPA nod came after representation from the pharmaceutical companies to increase the prices of several drug compositions.

The anti-bacterial drug doxycycline (200 mg), commonly used to treat infections of various kinds, could start costing around 26% more from the existing price of Rs 11.90 (7 ml vial) while ascorbic acid-based multivitamin syrup with other constituents too would become dearer by 26%.

Another antibacterial drug with lyncomycin as the main constituent could also become costlier by around 26 to 28%. While these come under the category of drugs that fall within the price ceiling net of NPPA, the drug price control authority has also revised the rates of certain non-ceiling categories, mainly injectible human insulin drugs.

Pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt Ltd has been allowed to raise prices by 14% to 17% in different types of human insulin injectible drugs it markets. The Wockhardt insulin injectibles that cost between Rs 110 and Rs 188 (per 3 ml cartridge) may soon start costing between Rs 127 to Rs 220 per cartridge.

Biocon Ltd has also been permitted to increase the prices of human insulin injectible drug by around 14-15% from Rs 111 now to around Rs 127 to Rs 128 per a 3 ml cartridge.

These drugs do not fall under the price ceiling ambit of NPPA and its rates are fixed specific to particular pack size and dosage forms of a company.

?A manufacturer using a scheduled bulk drug in his formulation is required to apply for fixing the price of a formulation within 30 days of fixing the price of such a bulk drug?.Applications received in NPPA from manufacturers and importers are considered for price fixation.? said an official.

Prices of formulations based on scheduled bulk drugs are fixed in two ways. It could either be based on applications of the manufacturers and on a suo-motu basis.

This article was first uploaded on March seventeen, twenty nine, at twenty-three minutes past eleven in the night.