Multinational pharma firms that plan to introduce their products in the Indian market at high premiums could face tough regulatory hurdles as the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is gearing up to make rules against selling such drugs at exorbitant prices.
According to official sources, the NPPA is in the process of creating norms that may put restrictions for multinational pharma giants such as GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Eli Lilly and Pfizer on selling their branded drugs at much higher prices as compared to domestic companies.
When contacted, NPPA Chairman AK Banerjee said that the pharma price regulator was aware of huge differences in prices of imported drugs and those produced by domestic firms.
“We are now looking to devise a method by which some minimal control can be applied on them,” he said without elaborating.
Banerjee, however, said as per the current norms under the Drug Price Control Order, the NPPA can take action against companies that are using any of the 74 scheduled drugs.