The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a national coalition of NGOs and social activists, has appealed to the political parties contesting elections to commit to reduction in prices of medicines in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Calling upon all political parties to include a commitment to control and reduce prices of medicines and make them affordable in the long run in their election campaigns, AIDAN said that this can be achieved through a series of policy measures. In this regard, it called upon the parties to bringing all medicines in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) under price control and abolition of names so that medicines are sold only in generic name, with company's name in the bracket.

Some other measures suggested by AIDAN in this connection included elimination of unscientific Fixed Dose Drug Combinations because they unnecessarily increase the prices of medicines, control over introduction of new medicines in the market to avoid proliferation of costly 'me too' drugs, regulation of drug promotion by drug companies, abolition of excise duty for essential medicines and revival of Public Sector Units producing vaccines to keep the prices of vaccines at reasonable levels.

Control over and reduction in prices of medicines is necessary as India has the maximum number of people without access to medicines. According to a WHO report, 64% of the population in India does not have access to medicines. This figure is the highest in the world and worse than Sub-Saharan Africa. Medicine is a unique commodity as the consumer is under distress and therefore cannot be choosy about prices of drugs and the prescriber decides while the buyer pays, AIDAN said.