medtech policy
Would the price cap really make
medical stents affordable?
While the government says that its latest move to include medical stents in
essential medicine list will bring down cost, the medical technology multinationals
feel otherwise. A look at the various angles and perspectives
R
BY RAHUL KOUL
ecently the union health ministry issued a
notification announcing that coronary
stents would be added to the 2015 National
List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) as per
the recommendations of a Subcommittee
established late last year. Justifying the move, the
health minister, Mr J P Nadda, stated, “The
Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has informed
the union health ministry that the National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under it
has, during a study conducted on pricing of stents in
the country, observed that bulk of medical devices
including stents consumed in the country are
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BioVoiceNews | August 2016
imported and the difference between the landed
cost and the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) thereof
is very high.”
“These medical devices fall under non-scheduled
category of Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013
and as such, no ceiling price has been fixed for these
devices,” Mr Nadda informed the Parliament on
March 10, 2016. Health Minister also clarified the
DPCO, 2013 provides for monitoring the prices of
these devices and also ensures that no
manufacturer, importer or distributor is allowed to
increase the MRP by more than ten percent of MRP
during preceding twelve months.