The government on Thursday promised the Supreme Court that it would notify the new National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP), 2012, latest by November 25, paving way for inclusion of 348 essential drugs under a price regulatory mechanism.
This new list covers 348 medicines that are sold in 654 formulations as specified in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2011. Additional solicitor general Siddhartha Luthra, after ?persistent queries? by a bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya, informed the court that the formulation of the price mechanism under the NPPP-2012 will take place after the Cabinet clears it. The court is now scheduled to hear the matter on November 27.
Pertinently, the apex court said that the proposed policy should not trigger any price hike in the drug prices. The court said that while it understands the rationale for revising the prices of raw materials, packaging and manufacturing process to factor in rising costs under the existing formula, it failed to understand why the government needs to tinker with the existing (cost-plus) formula of fixing prices of drugs.
A group of ministers, headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, had earlier proposed fixation of price of the 348 essential drugs based on the weighted average of top brands by volume. The GoM had also decided to keep combination drugs out of price regulation.
If all the 348 essential drugs along with their combinations come under cost-based price control, then it would really hit the drug industry, analysts feel. But it is not clear what the government will decide, while conforming to the SC directions.
The department of pharmaceuticals said that a Cabinet note has been circulated on the new policy and the ministries have been asked to furnish their views. To expedite the decision-making process, the ASG said that a cabinet note will be submitted to the cabinet secretariat by next week following which the Cabinet would consider the proposed policy and a fresh order would be issued. Through the proposed policy the government would like to ensure that drugmakers don’t opt out of essential drug business, Luthra argued.
Slamming the government for being ?non-committal? on giving a timeline for including essential drugs within the ambit of its price control measures, the bench in the earlier part of the hearing said that the government had failed to take steps in checking the pricing of drugs in the country. It also said that the courts are extremely slow to interfere with policy matters but if for 17 years( referring to DPCO,1995) nothing happens where will the people go.