Under intense pressure from pharma industry, upset with the new pricing policy, the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers today told a group of senior executives of pharma MNCs that it is ‘‘open’’ to the industry’s suggestions even at this juncture.Of course, the ministry feels that there is ‘‘no meeting point’’ between its intent to impose cost-based price control on most of the 354 essential drugs and the industry’s proposal that effective price monitoring could supplant controls. However, the ministry is willing to have a look at any ‘‘via-media option’’ the industry might put forth, sources said.Such an option could be included in the Cabinet note as an alternative, before it is moved to the Cabinet, the sources added.A draft Cabinet note is currently in circulation in the government. In it, the ministry has proposed easing of bulk drugs costing, exemption from price control for low-cost drugs including OTC products and vaccines and so on.Importantly, the draft also prescribes that while the specified single ingredient formulations of the drugs on the national list of essential medicines would invite price control, drug companies would be dissuaded from switching over to newer strengths of these drugs. This, the draft suggests, would be through automatic price control on newer strengths.Ranjit Sahani of Novartis India and S Kalyanasundaram of GSK were among the MNC officials who met senior ministry officials on Monday. Their main plea, it is understood, was to step up monitoring and avoid cost-based price control.Industry captains reiterated their stand that with intense competition in most therapeutic segments, market forces would keep prices from spiralling. Drug prices in India are among the lowest in the world, they said. The industry leaders also offered to earmark certain percentage of the production of a company for distribution to the low income population at discounted prices.The ministry, in the draft note, proposed price ceilings for drug purchases by the government. The ceilings are 50% of MRP in case of control-free drugs and 65% of the notified ceiling price in case of controlled drugs.
