The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the price regulator for drugs, may announce a price increase for vitamins within a week to resume supply of vitamin by GlaxoSmithKlime and Piramal Life Sciences.
Several vitamin products, especially Vitamin C, had gone off the market after rising cost of raw materials made production of such medicines un-attractive.
According to industry sources, NPPA, in its formulation committee meeting held on Thursday, has considered an upward price revision of multivitamins. The multi-vitamin market in India is known to be around 1,000 crore, with Vitamin C contributing a minor share.
For the last three months, domestic pharmaceutical industry has been seeking higher prices for vitamins due to the increasing cost of imported raw material from China. According to industry sources, the prices have gone up by 400 per cent in the last three months. The current price of a kilogram of vitamin C raw material costs Rs 350.
When contacted, NPPA chairman A K Banerjee said the agency is seized with the matter and some steps are likely to be taken soon. He declined to provide further details.
Meanwhile industry sources said the shortage of vitamins will be over only if the price increase is in the desired level. “NPPA should consider 400 per cent increase in the input cost while fixing the new price of vitamins. Unless that happens, the industry will not be able to resume production and supply of these medicines”, an industry source said.
NPPA fixes the prices of medicines made out of 74 specific raw materials or bulk drugs. It also monitors the prices of other medicines and fixes the prices of individual medicine packs in the eventuality of any abnormal price increase.