‘Need policy to make non-scheduled drugs affordable’: House panel

The Parliamentary Standing Committee also examined the price to stockist vs the MRP for several drugs used commonly and found margins were as high as 600%, 1200%, and 1800%, a report said.

The government has already used trade margin rationalisation policy to regulate the prices of 42 formulations of anti-cancer medicines, bringing down the prices of nearly 500 brands of medicines by 50%. (File Photo)

Stating that lack of government regulatory control over “non-scheduled drugs” might lead to widespread profiteering, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on chemicals and fertilisers, which is looking into the rising prices of medicines, has asked the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to come up with a policy to plug the loophole at the earliest.

According to the committee’s report titled “Price rise of medicines in the pharmaceutical sector impacting the lives of ordinary citizens adversely”, the department had informed the panel they were working on a trade margin rationalisation policy, earlier used for very select drugs in case of health emergencies, and for a limited period.

According to the Standing Committee’s report, the allergy medicine Cetrizine manufactured by a multinational pharma company which carried an MRP of Rs 21.06 reaches the stockists at Rs 2, making the markup 953%; Pentoprazole, an acidity drug, with an MRP of Rs 102, reaches the stockists at Rs 10, making the markup 920%.

The committee also examined the price to stockist vs the MRP for several drugs used commonly and found margins were as high as 600%, 1200%, and 1800%, the report said. The committee also pointed out that the price to stockists remains undisclosed to the people.

Experts suggest linking GST to actual MRP

Industry experts expressed doubts as to how regulator NPPA could fix initial pricing for several different formulations.They said it would be easier to fix the proportion of markup allowed at different stages of manufacture and supply. Linking GST to actual MRP instead of prices the wholesalers, stockists, or retailers pay might help prune prices, since companies would restrain from leaving such a huge margin.

A trade margin rationalisation policy usually fixes the margin of profit for manufacturers and the supply chain on specific products.

The government has already used this to regulate the prices of 42 formulations of anti-cancer medicines, bringing down the prices of nearly 500 brands of medicines by 50%, accruing savings of around Rs 984 crore to patients.

Trade margin of oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitoring machines, nebulisers, digital thermometers, and glucometers was capped in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which translated into around Rs 1,000 crore savings for patients.

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The committee, according to the report, said that it has been five years since the pilot trade margin policy and a new policy should be introduced at the earliest. “The Committee, therefore, desires that the Department of Pharmaceuticals in consultation with NPPA should come forward for a policy review in the matter at the earliest so that medicines are available to the ordinary citizens at affordable prices,” the report said.

At present, the mechanisms used to control the drug prices include the Drug (Prices Control) Order 2013, which allows the NPPA to set the ceiling price for scheduled drugs—those listed in the essential medicine list by experts. This list is updated from time to time by an expert committee.

The ceiling prices are revised every year based on the wholesale pricing index (WPI). However, many companies choose not to hike prices. When it comes to drugs not on the list of essential medicines, there is a 10% limit on the annual increase. The department informed the committee, as per its report, that over the five-year period between April 2020 and March 2025, the price of these non-scheduled drugs increased only by 5.6% on average each year, broadly in line with the WPI and much less than the permissible 10% limit. However, there is no way for the NPPA to fix the initial price of the drug.

This, the committee said, as per its report, creates a loophole as the NPPA cannot control the trade margins on non-scheduled drugs, allowing companies to launch their products at whatever prices, even when huge markups may be evident.

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The committee also raised the point of increasing prices of the stents and high prices of anti-cancer drugs. When it comes to anti-cancer medicines, inputs were sought from the industry body Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which cited hospital infrastructure cost and comprehensive care requirements, as per the report. “The Committee is of the considered view that the reliance on inputs from the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an industry body with inherent commercial interests, is bound to affect objectivity,” it said.

The committee directed the pharmaceutical department to put in place a robust mechanism to collect pricing data on a real-time basis from manufacturers, hospitals, and distributors to ensure transparency in pricing. It also asked the department to set up strict monitoring of online platforms selling cancer drugs at steep discounts to ensure that products are genuine. When it comes to bare metal stents, the panel noted that the prices increased by 44% between 2017 and 2024 and 29% for drug-eluting stents, which are vascular prostheses used by interventional cardiologists to reopen and maintain patent coronary arteries narrowed by arteriosclerosis. The committee recommended that NPPA as well as the pharmaceuticals department look into it to bring down the stent prices.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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