(LiveMint)
Government think tank NITI Aayog is working to revamp the existing system of identifying medicines for price control, two persons aware of the matter said. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asked NITI Aayog to intervene after pharma lobby groups expressed their dissatisfaction over the proposed pharmaceuticals policy, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. These groups also showed their concern over the way National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) currently fixes price caps.
“The PMO has asked Niti Aayog to prepare a road map and submit a report to the PMO based on their consultations with the pharma lobby groups and pharma experts,” said one of the persons cited above on condition of anonymity.
Currently, the health ministry prepares the list of drugs eligible for price regulation. The department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) then incorporates the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) into Schedule 1 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO). Following this, the NPPA fixes the prices of drugs in this schedule. Medicines and devices listed in the NLEM must be sold at the price fixed by NPPA, while those in the non-scheduled list are allowed a maximum annual price hike of 10%. Over 750 formulations are currently in India’s list of essential medicines.
