The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has fixed the retail price of 30 drug formulations — including multiple vitamin and mineral supplements. The update also comes mere weeks after the regulatory body capped the retail cost of 42 new and popular medications.
According to a notification from the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, the price of 30 ‘new’ formulations has been fixed. Vitamin D3 Oral Solution, Calcium, Vitamin D3, Methylcobalamin, L-Methylfolate Calcium and Pyridoxal-5 phosphate were among the drugs named in the notification.
The retail price of ‘Calcium, Vitamin D3, Methylcobalamin, L-Methylfolate Calcium and Pyridoxal-5 Phosphate Tablets’ has now been fixed at Rs 19.78 per tablet. A ‘Vitamin D3 oral solution’ will now incur a retail price of Rs 19.91 per ml, while ‘diclofenac potassium, paracetamol, and serratiopeptidase tablets’ will retail for Rs 10.07 each.
The regulatory body also clarified that the prices outlined in its official notification were exclusive of Goods and Services Tax.
How are drug prices determined?
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority fixes drug prices based on existing guidelines to ensure that essential, life-saving medication remains affordable. The pricing mechanism differentiates between ‘essential’ drugs — outlined in the National List of Essential Medicines — and non-scheduled formulations where manufacturers can set their own initial proces.
The ‘new drugs’ listed in the NPPA notification fall under a separate subset — with price cap calculated using the simple average price of all existing brands of that specific combination that hold a 1% or higher market share and adding a a 16% retail margin.