By all indications, the new drug policy is not likely to be finalized by the present government at the Centre. The last meeting of the Group of Ministers was in April, 2008 and GoM could not finalize the policy despite initiatives by the Union chemicals minister and his ministry. Thus, the key objective of bringing new essential and life saving drugs under price control after the last drug policy remains unfulfilled. The Drug Price Control Order,1995 announced after the adoption of new drug policy in 1994, contains only 74 drugs whereas over 500 drugs are being marketed in the country today. More than 200 of these 500 drugs were introduced during the last 14 years. As they were launched after the DPCO was notified, drug companies had no restriction in fixing any prices for these products. A large number of these new drugs are essential ones for treating life style diseases. In fact, the disease profile of the country has changed vastly over the years and thus the concept of essentiality of drugs. Life style diseases like heart ailments, cancer, diabetes, AIDS, etc. have started affecting all sections of people in the country. This has led to a substantial rise in the use of lifestyle drugs and medical devices by the common man raising their medical budgets. The price control basket in the pharmaceutical industry should have, therefore, changed by taking into consideration of this trend in the disease pattern.
The chemicals ministry could have included several drugs of mass consumption into price control even as per the provisions of drug policy of 1994. In fact, the chemicals ministry had removed two drugs out of price control by using the provision of non essentiality in the policy. By using the same yardstick, new drugs which are of mass consumption could have been brought under DPCO. Why that is not done by Paswan’s ministry is a mystery. Inaction on the price control front has thus given rise to a chaotic situation in the case of several life saving drugs. There is a huge price difference exists amongst various brands of same drug marketed by different companies. A recent compilation of such disturbing price variations for same products by All-India Drug Action Network, a campaign group for rational drug therapy and policy, is rather shocking. The price difference between the lowest priced brand and the highest priced brand for the same medicine goes as much as 2002 per cent as per its findings. Usually high priced drugs are marketed by large companies and physicians are motivated to prescribe them in metros and big towns. This creates a situation where patients are forced to buy expensive brands when cheaper substitutes of same drug are available in the market. The Department of Pharmaceuticals is aware that this practice can be curbed by bringing most of these new essential drugs under the DPCO.