Amid reports of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) turning its attention for possible ceiling of prices in the insulin market, the domestic manufacturers have demanded a level-playing field to compete with the multinationals which are reportedly enjoying higher margins.

The exercise to review the prices and impose ceiling would only harm the domestic manufacturers and it would not in effect help the patients get this life-saving drug at cheaper rates, the local players have claimed. It can bring down the margin slabs only for the domestic manufacturers while it has to accept the claims of multinationals' statements on their margins and allow them to get away, as many of them are produced elsewhere, it was pointed out.

``The domestic players get all the beatings every time from the NPPA while the multinationals enjoy big margins. In effect, the exercise will bring down prices of only domestically manufactured insulin products as 85 per cent of the market is controlled by the MNCs,'' said an official from Biocon.

``It also means that even if NPPA reduces the MRPs of Indian brands, majority of Indian people who are using MNCs brands will not get that benefit. With heavy profits which MNCs earn because of good margins, they are able to do value added services for the Indian doctors whereas Indian companies cannot afford to do so. Since insulin is a life-saving drug, patients take only that brand which doctors prescribe and the market is going to remain the same,'' he added.

According to the latest estimates, Denmark-based Novo Nordisk has the highest market share with 64 per cent while Eli Lilly has 19 per cent and Aventis seven per cent. The MRPs (10 ml, 40IU vials) of the various MNCs brands range from Rs 145 to 174, with Shreya at the lower and Aventis at the higher sides. Novo products are priced around Rs 163 while insulin from Lilly has MRPs of Rs 158. The prices of Biocon range from Rs 122 to 127 and products of Wockhardt range from Rs 123 to Rs 126 among the domestic players.

Any cut in prices of insulin and resultant lesser margins would also affect the ongoing R&D projects in the country and in long term chances of making insulin more affordable to Indian patients, an official of Wockhardt also noted.

It is also pointed out that the multinationals could afford to cut the prices because of higher margins. They resort to price reduction tactics when some Indian companies come out with new products, only to hike it later. When Wockhardt was about to launch the vials in 2000, Lilly lowered prices from Rs 218 to Rs 145 while Novo cut it from Rs 198. However, they increased it later as they are shifting their focus to devices market and converting their market share. Industry observers claimed that in devices segments also, the anomaly continues. Wockhardt is selling the cartridge at Rs 125 while Novo and Lilly are selling the same at above Rs 200.

The domestic players strongly called for level-playing field with equal slabs of MRP to all companies or increase in the prices of domestically manufactured insulin vials and cartridges.