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As pharma companies queue up in front of courts challenging different provisions of the Drug Price Control Order 2013, with many getting interim relief, there is ample ambiguity related to the implementation of the DPCO.
Drug regulators of different states including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa are meeting in the last week of this month together with senior officials of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) from the department of pharmaceuticals to discuss issues related to the implementation of the new DPCO.
"While a final date is yet to be decided, a meeting has been scheduled with NPPA officials in the last week of August here, to discuss issues related to the new DPCO implementation. Drug regulators from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Goa are also likely to attend the meeting," informed H G Koshia, commissioner of the Food and Drug Control Administration, Gujarat.
Drug regulators have decided to go slow on implementation of the new DPCO, as there is ample ambiguity related to the modalities. Many companies have approached courts challenging different provisions of the new pricing control order, and have also received interim relief.
Like for example, the Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to Sun Pharma asking the government not to take any coersive action against the company until next hearing.
Sun Pharma had challenged the DPCO provision which mandates that all the medicines covered under DPCO should sport the new price labels within 45-days from the day the order gets implemented.
In the wake of such order from the court, and also with the risk of a potential shortage of essential drugs in the market, drug regulators have decided to go slow on cracking down on sale of drugs in the market that do not sport the revised MRP as par the new DPCO, Koshia explained.
Drug makers by and large have been complaining against the logistical issues of recalling old batches of medicine from across the country, re-labelling them within 45 days of the government notification of new prices.
Apart from drug firms like Sun Pharma, Cipla, Intas Pharma, Alembic Pharma, Emcure Pharma, Lupin, Wockhardt, industry bodies like the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association have also challenged the order.
For the first set of 151 essential drugs, prices of which were notified in June, the drug price control order came into effect on July 29.
