In a notification today, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) asked the companies to consider options for price revision before deciding to withdraw their products from the market.
Last week Abbott had sought permission to withdraw its 'Alpine drug eluting' stent and 'Absorb dissolving' stent, while Medtronic had also sought to withdraw its Onyx Zotarolimus eluting stents in the wake of the government bringing the medical device under price control earlier this year.
In a notification today, the NPPA said during the period no such request from the companies to withdraw their products could be entertained.
The NPPA said the companies would be "free to resubmit" their requests two weeks before the expiry of the restrictions, which are currently in operation.
Also Read
When contacted, an Abbott Healthcare spokesperson said that the company is reviewing the memorandum issued by the NPPA.
The drug price regulator also asked the two companies to explore options of price revision provided under various rules before exercising "an exit route".
The NPPA also said the two companies did not comply with the government's direction to give weekly reports on the availability of stents.
In February, the NPPA had brought stents under price control and capped ceiling price of coronary stents at Rs 7,260 for bare metal variety and Rs 29,600 for drug-eluting ones.
The corresponding average MRPs before the price control stood at Rs 45,100 and Rs 1.21 lakh, respectively.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content