More life-saving medicines to become cheaper by as much as 53%

NEW DELHI: More essential medicines to treat life-threatening ailments including heart problems, Hepatitis-C and cancer are set to become cheaper, with India’s drug pricing watchdog having capped prices of 51 drugs by as much as 53%. 

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on Friday fixed the maximum prices of 36 medicines and revised the ceiling prices of 15 others. According to its latest notification, companies selling their products at prices higher than the new limits would have to reduce these prices immediately. 

According to a senior NPPA official who spoke to ET on condition of anonymity, the regulator’s latest notification is expected to slash prices of these formulations anywhere between 6% and 53%. 

For instance, alteplase powder for injection now has a ceiling price of Rs 17, 235 for a 20 mg pack and Rs 35,985 for a 30 mg pack. This is nearly 28% lower than the current Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) for the injectable powder, which is used in the treatment of heart attacks and ischemic strokes. 

Boehringer Ingelheim sells alteplase under the brand name ‘Actilyse’ at an MRP of Rs 23,899 for a 20 mg pack and Rs49,899 for a 50mg pack, according to NPPA’s drug pricing mobile app ‘Pharma Sahi Daam’. 

Similarly, the ceiling price of colorectal cancer drug oxaliplatin has now been fixed at Rs 4,055.10 for a 100mg injection pack. This is expected to be around 48% cheaper than the oxaliplatin brand with the highest MRP. NPPA’s pricing app shows that the MRP of this drug varies between Rs 2,500 and Rs 7,800, depending on the brand.