HC asks pharma companies like Novartis and Cipla, Centre to resolve the drug pricing issue

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today asked the pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis India Limited and Cipla Ltd, to hold a meeting with the union government and try to resolve the issue of implementing the revised drug pricing.

A bench of Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru said representatives of the pharma companies hold a meeting with the Director of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, to settle the matter "once and for ever".

"You have meeting wit the the Director, NPPA, and come back in October. We expect the meeting shall take place and be concluded before the next date of hearing. You should try to resolve the issue once and for ever. We are also tired of hearing it," the court said.

The court has fixed the matter for hearing on October 30. The court's suggestion came while hearing a bunch of petitions moved by the pharmaceutical companies and an association of medicine manufacturing companies challenging the government's new drug pricing order that asked them to slash prices of 348 medicines.

During the hearing, the pharma companies suggested that prominent boards of the revised drug prices can be displayed by retailers and chemists in order to inform the customers as calling back all the stocks and relabeling them is not feasible.

However, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain was not in agreement with the proposal and suggested an alternative of shipping stickers of revised prices to retailers who can then affix the same on the drugs.

The pharma companies did not agree with the ASG's suggestion and termed it as impractical.

As both the parties were not agreeing with each other's suggestion, the court directed them to hold a meeting.