With a view to strengthen the NPPA by monitoring the prices of drugs effectively at the State level, the Chemicals Department is planning to create DPCO cells in all the States on the lines of Karnataka, after the finalisation of the national pharmaceutical policy.

The cells will ensure implementation of prices fixed or revised by NPPA from time to time, detect cases of overcharging and forward the same to NPPA for further action, and follow up the overcharging cases for recovery of overcharged amount. They would also ensure availability of data from manufacturing units, where units fail to provide data/information to NPPA, according to the sources in the Chemicals Ministry.

Besides, other works assigned from time to time for enforcement of drug policy, the cells would also monitor and make sure that drugs were made available in the States. It is viewed that the NPPA was finding it difficult now to monitor the activities across the country from one place.

The recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers also endorsed the need for such cells and wanted the Centre to expedite the moves in a time-bound manner in this regard for proper monitoring of drug prices. Karnataka government set up a cell in 1998 and has been working successfully since then.

The idea of creation of a DPCO cell in each state has also been supported by the Task Force under the Chairmanship of Dr Pronab Sen, Principal Adviser in its report submitted to the Government on 20.9.2005. The issue of creation of DPCO cell in all States have been included as part of the draft National Pharmaceutical Policy, 2006. Such Cells will be constituted after finalization of the Policy, Department sources said.

NPPA depended on the State Drug Administration for feedback in fixing/regulating the prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals. However, lack of sufficient staff and infrastructure with the State Drug Controllers often failed to cope with the growth of the Pharma sector, the complex nature of the industry and the demand and availability of medicines across the country.