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NPPA should devise profit-formula for all drugs

Kashmir Times. Dated: 5/21/2019 2:05:24 PM

Dear Editor,
It refers to National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority NPPA slashing prices of nine anti-cancer drugs by upto 87-percent. Big question is firstly why drug-companies were allowed to mint money in past with government-agency like NPPA in existence, and secondly why such price-slashing is not done for all drugs in one go with even World Health Organization WHO establishing that even essential drugs in India with lowest printed Maximum-Retail-Price MRP are exorbitantly priced over manufacturing-cost followed by abnormally high trade-margin between ex-factory price and MRP. High profit-margin is evident from the fact that many companies selling on-line medicines have emerged giving heavy discounts of upto 25-percent on medicines that too bearing heavy cost of packing and home-delivery.
NPPA must devise a profit-formula rather than differentiating by having various categories of medicines where price-regulation is applicable only for some limited drugs. Presently even generic medicines considered to be a cheaper version of respective branded medicines have exorbitant trade-margins of several hundred percent. There are many medicines where different drug-manufacturers take undue advantage of their brand-popularity with prices of same medicine differing several times according to brand-popularity.
Price-revision of any medicines must be allowed only once in a year say on First January only unless approved as special case by NPPA. Gimmick packaging other than in units of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 gms, mltrs or units must not be allowed unless approved by NPPA for dose-wise administration. Rule should be to emboss or print name of medicine in a manner that name is there on every capsule or tablet thus ruling out possibility of wastage of drug in case name-portion of strip is consumed.
—Madhu Agrawal,
1775 Kucha Lattushah
Dariba, Chandni Chowk Delhi.