National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority likely to be disbanded soon

New Delhi: Addressing the concerns regarding excessive control by the authority while obstructing innovation and competitiveness, the union Health Ministry may soon disband National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

The power according to the ET report will be taken over by the government itself for setting up of prices of essential medicines.

A third party certification and self-certification system will also be put in place to be implemented on annual basis. The process of regular inspections within different pharma firms by the government will continue.

All the decisions regarding the matter were taken up in a vital meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office including Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Pharmaceutical Secretary Jai Priye Prakash, Health Secretary CK Mishra and DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek.

This came after Kant wrote a letter to the Health Ministry elaborating issues with stringent regime which is being followed while controlling of drug pricing.

He said that the rule was creating obstructions for drug manufacturers while creating stagnation for organizations in conduct of their business.

Suggested interventions will include:

• Delinking of price control over several essential medicines


• Periodic renewal of licenses for manufacturing and sale of drugs in the country will be dissolved. Instead licenses will soon be granted permanently.

 

Supporting the making of permanent licenses in one go an official stated, “licences granted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules for manufacturing and sale would be issued for perpetuity, ‘subject to their being withdrawn, suspended, cancelled or surrendered.”

Another official said, “Drug price control order may be delinked from the national list of essential medicines and, the NPPA, in its present form and current function may be wound up and deployed in the department of pharmaceuticals with a new mandate,” said the official.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority was established in 1997 through a government resolution. Since then it was declared as the one responsible body for the implementation of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, 2012 and the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013.

The authority remains incumbent in its functions in setting up of the upper limit of essential and any medicines brought in by the pharmaceutical firms, thus controlling the high-pricing of medicines in the country.

As per the control, the companies have the capacity to price the medicine under the set grade, as such it can set the price lower than the upper limit but not more than that.