The Delhi High Court has sent notices to the Centre and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) as seven more companies moved the court to question the newly revised prices of formulations as per the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013.

The Court sent notices to the Centre and others including NPPA on a petition filed by the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) on the issue of drug pricing. The case came up before the bench of Acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru on Monday.

Seven more companies also moved the court challenging the provisions of the DPCO before the same bench. The companies are Novartis, Wockhardt Limited, Lupin Limited, Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited, Sandoz Private Limited and Chiron Behring Vaccines Private Limited.

The bench asked the Centre not to take coercive steps against the firms and asked the companies to provide details of the medicines, whose prices are to be slashed, manufactured and sold in the market. The court asked the firms to also file copies of the agreements entered into by them with CNF agents/stockists/distributors, if any, within two weeks.

Cipla Ltd and four other companies had moved the court against the 2013 DCPO and won the similar order from the High Court recently.

The DCPO had ordered reduction of prices of some medicines within 45 days of issuance of the notification by the NPPA revising the prices. The deadline for implementation of the new prices for the first batch of formulations was July 29 and the pharma companies had gone to the court against this.