No time frame for National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy: Srikant Kumar Jena

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday said no time frame can be given for implementation of draft National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2011 as it is awaiting the response from the concerned ministries and stakeholders.

“No definite time frame can be indicated, as feedback on the draft policy has been asked from various ministries, departments of the Government of India and stakeholders by November 30, 2011,” minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers, Srikant Kumar Jena, said in a reply to a question in Lok Sabha. Thereafter, the final draft policy would be prepared considering the feedback, he added.

The draft NPPP, 2011 proposes to regulate prices of drug formulations only, unlike the existing principle of controlling prices of specified bulk drugs and their formulations as adopted in the drug policy, 1994.