Demand notices of Rs 2,358 cr issued for drug overcharging

NEW DELHI: The government today said it has issued demand notices amounting to Rs 2,357.95 crore to various pharmaceutical companies for overcharging till October this year.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena said: "NPPA has issued demand notices in 812 cases involving an amount of Rs 2,357.95 crore (overcharging along with interest) for selling medicines at a price higher than the prices fixed under DPCO, 1995."

This is based on the detection of the overcharging cases since the inception of National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA), he added.

The pharmaceutical firms which have been issued notices include Cipla, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Dr Reddy's Laboratories as per NPPA's website.

Till October 31, 2011, NPPA has been able to recover an amount of Rs 216.76 crore from the pharmaceutical firms.

NPPA was established on August 29, 1997 as an independent body of experts for fixing and revising drug prices, both for bulk drugs and formulations, and to ensure their availability in the country.