 "Drugs medicine")
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has announced the fixing of retail prices of 54 drug formulations and eight special feature products. The decision to revise the prices of the formulations was taken during the authority’s 124th meeting.
Prices have been fixed for drugs and formulations meant for diabetes, hypertension, heart issues, multivitamins, bacterial infections, and allergies, according to a notification from the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the NPPA.
While the retail price of combination tablets of telmisartan, chlorthalidone, and cilnidipine for hypertension has been fixed at Rs 7.14 per tablet, the price for ciprofloxacin antibacterial injection has been fixed at Rs 0.23 per millilitre (ml).
The retail price for combination capsules of atorvastatin and aspirin, used to treat increased cholesterol, especially when associated with the risk of heart disease, has been fixed at Rs 2.68 per capsule.
Similarly, the price of calcium and vitamin D3 tablets has been fixed at Rs 7.82 per tablet while the price of a 500 ml pack of glucose with euro head plastic bottles has been capped at Rs 0.24 per ml.
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The revision and fixation of retail and ceiling prices is a routine exercise undertaken by the NPPA. The drug pricing regulator is vested with the responsibility of fixing and revising the prices of pharmaceutical products, enforcing provisions of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), and monitoring the prices of both controlled and decontrolled drugs.
The revision in retail prices comes after the NPPA, in March this year, announced a 0.00551 per cent increase in prices of drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), on the basis of changes in the wholesale price index (WPI).
A similar slash in retail prices was announced by the drug price regulator for 41 essential drugs in May 2024, along with a revision of ceiling rates of seven scheduled formulations.
