The industry efforts to convince the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for a change in the latter's stand on the special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the DPCO provision of 15 day price revision is unlikely to produce any results, it is learnt.

With the Karnataka High Court judgement favouring the DPCO provision relating to 15-days deadline for drug price revisions, a mere change of stand now would not hold in the SC, government sources feel. The only option left is a comprehensive revision of DPCO by the government, which is not going to happen overnight, they point out.

According to officials, NPPA has already defended its position in the SC and it cannot backtrack from the official stand now. Even if the authority feels that the stand taken by it in the SC with regard to the 15-day deadline is wrong, it can only appeal to the parent ministry for a review of the DPCO provisions, sources said. The NPPA is yet to submit such a request before the C & F Ministry, they added.

Meanwhile, the drug industry feels that the position taken by the NPPA chairman to have a fresh look at the problem of 15-day price revision is laudable. According to industry functionaries, the NPPA has now realized how wrong its interpretation on the DPCO provision for 15-days deadline was and is trying to rectify those anomalies. They feel that the efforts should be given full support so that the anomaly is cleared at the earliest. With the final hearing of the case fast nearing, the industry had hoped for a change in NPPA stand.

The Supreme Court has admitted the special leave petition moved by SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (SKB), currently Glaxo SmithKline India (GSK), against the Karnataka High Court judgment favouring the DPCO provision relating to 15-days deadline for drug price revisions as civil writ petition for final disposal a couple of months ago. The industry associations like Indian Drugs Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) are also co-petitioners in the case.

The Karnataka HC had upheld the contention of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) that the prices of scheduled formulations should be revised within 15 days of the notification regardless of the manufacturing date of the product. The HC also noted that manufacturers, distributors and retailers would be liable to sell formulations from the date of such revised price list (which is required to be published within 15 days from the date of notification) at the revised prices and not the prices mentioned on the label of the container or pack.

The HC order had also stated that the contention of the petitioner that revised prices would not apply to the existing stocks but only to new batches of drugs and formulations to be manufactured after 15 days of the notification cannot be accepted. The provisions of the DPCO are clear that prices should be revised within 15 days even in regard to the formulations, which were manufactured.