NPPA allows differential price for Meril's biodegradable cardiac stent

In a move that may pave way for differential pricing of cardiac stents, a medical device under price cap, the country's drug and medical devices pricing regulator allowed to exempt Gujarat-based Meril Lifesciences' bioresorbable stent from price control. The company had been seeking differential pricing for its stents on the grounds that it met specific unmet clinical needs and was distinct from the rest of the cardiac stents available in the market.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) invoked the para 32 (ii) of the Drug Price Control Order, 2013 to grant the exemption to the indigenously developed stent. Experts