Essential
Medicines - SCI & TECH
News:
Govt hikes prices of
essential medicines again, claims ‘it’s miniscule’
What's
in the news?
●
An increase in the prices of essential
medicines came into force on April 1, earlier this week.
●
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing
Authority (NPPA) enforced an
increase in the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) this year of 0.00551% for scheduled
formulations (of drugs) from the beginning of the fiscal year 2024–25.
Key
takeaways:
●
The Department
of Pharmaceuticals issued its annual list of revised ceiling prices for 923
scheduled drug formulations and revised retail prices for 65 formulations, with
the ceiling rates coming into effect on April 1.
National
List of Essential Medicines:
●
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), Essential Medicines are those
that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population.
Prepared
by:
●
The
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare hence prepared and
released the first National List of
Essential Medicines (NLEM) of India in 1996 consisting of 279 medicines.
○
The list is made with consideration to
disease prevalence, efficacy, safety and comparative cost-effectiveness of the
medicines.
○
Such medicines are intended to be
available in adequate amounts, in appropriate dosage forms and strengths with
assured quality.
○
They should be available in such a way
that an individual or community can afford.
●
The Health Ministry prepares a list of
drugs eligible for price regulation, following which the Department of
Pharmaceuticals incorporates them into Schedule 1 of DPCO.
List
of Scheduled Drugs:
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Drugs listed under NLEM - also known as scheduled drugs - will be cheaper
because the National Pharmaceutical
Pricing Authority (NPPA) caps medicine prices and changes annually, only based
on wholesale price index-based inflation.
○
The list includes anti-infectives
medicines to treat diabetes such as insulin - HIV, tuberculosis, cancer,
contraceptives, hormonal medicines and anesthetics.
○
They account for 17-18 percent of the
estimated Rs 1.6-trillion domestic pharmaceutical market.
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Companies
selling non-scheduled drugs can hike prices by up to 10 percent every year.
●
Typically, once NLEM is released, the
department of pharmaceuticals under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers
adds them in the Drug Price Control Order, after which NPPA fixes the price.
National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority:
●
NPPA was constituted by the Government of
India in 1997 as an attached office of
the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals &
Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure
availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
●
It was made to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and
to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order,
1995-2013 (DPCO).
Mandates: