Regulator cuts prices of 100 drugs

The move is in line with the NPPA's recent policy of putting a cap on prices.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has reduced the prices of around 100 pain-relieving, antibiotic and anti-fungal medicines.

The move is in line with the NPPA's recent policy of issuing broad ceiling prices that cover all manufacturers, instead of fixing the prices of individual packs of specific drugs made by certain companies.

The price cut would affect Ranbaxy's leading brand Fortwin (pentazocine) and Glaxo Smithkline's betamethasone formulations. While the authority has effected a downward price cut of Rs 2,315 on one kg of bulk (raw material) drug pentazocine, the betamethasone bulk price has come down by Rs 3 per gram.

Ranbaxy is known to be enjoying a 90 per cent market share in the Rs 6 crore pentazocine segment while Glaxo is the market leader in betamethasone medicines.

Though the decision to revise the prices was taken on May 30, the authority has not come out with a notification announcing the list of medicines.

Meanwhile, the authority has notified downward price revision of the six bulk drugs that belong to anti-inflammatory, anti-malaria, and pain reliever categories.

The bulk drugs are betamethasone alcohol, betamethasone valerate, betamethasone di-sodium phosphate, furazolodine, amodiaquine and pentazocine.

While Amodiazuine HCL is an anti-malaria drug, furazolidone is used as an ingredient in other combination medicines. GSK, Alembic and JB Chemicals are known to be major players in this segment.

The only upward price revision was for bulk drug benzathine penicillin, manufactured by public sector firm Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd (HAL). HAL can now charge Rs 382 more for a kg of benzathine pencillin. The company is required to submit quarterly reports on production, captive consumption of bulk drug for production of formulations, and sales.

Of the 1,020 price fixations announced in 2006-07, 70 per cent were ceiling prices, applicable to all companies manufacturing medicines of the specified therapeutic category.

In comparison, of the 140 price fixations that were done in 2002-03, 58 were for specific medicine packs of specific companies (non-ceiling), and 42 for ceiling prices that covered all medicines manufactured by all companies.