Govt slashes drug prices

NEW DELHI: The drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised prices of 887 medicines, including steroids, insulin, vitamins and painkillers such as aspirin.

The move will bring down prices of many popular brands from companies such as Biocon, Wockhardt, Sanofi Aventis, Nicholas Piramal and Novo Nordisk. The new prices have to be in place within 15 days. It is learnt that the prices were revised on the basis of inputs given by companies.

The pricing authority has also fixed prices of several drugs, whose market prices were not approved by NPPA. The price of Nicholas Piramal's Erythrotone, an antibiotic used for the treatment of bacterial infections, has now been fixed at Rs 18.14 for a strip of 10 tablets.

The prices of Wockhardt's insulin brand Glaritus and Biocon's insulin brand Basalog have been fixed at Rs 130.04 for a 3-ml cartridge, exclusive of excise duty or local taxes, an NPPA notification said.

The drug price regulator has also reduced the price of Sanofi's popular insulin brand Lantus. The price of a 3-ml cartridge of Lantus would now cost Rs 488.98 (exclusive of taxes), instead of Rs 543.12. NPPA's guidelines stipulate that manufacturing and marketing companies should mandatorily implement the new prices within 15 days.

If the companies do not comply with the ceiling prices and the prescribed norms, NPPA will penalise them for overcharging, the notification said.