The department of chemicals and petrochemicals, following an order from the Supreme Court, has redrafted the list of essential drugs to be used for framing new Drug Price Control Order (DPCO). The new list, with 337 drugs, will be submitted to apex court on July 11. The department is then expected to finalise the list of drugs for the new DPCO from the essential drugs list once Supreme Court okays the list. The SC had on May 5 asked the department to redraft the list while hearing an appeal on the Karnataka HC stay on the Pharmaceutical Policy, 2002.

The Pharmaceutical Policy 2002, which is currently awaiting the SC clearance after it was stayed by the Karnataka HC following a public litigation filed against the same alleging that its drug list does not contain the complete range of essential drugs.

The sources said that the announcement of the Pharmaceutical Policy and the new DPCO depends on the SC verdict on Friday after examination of the redrafted essential drug list. Centre's appeal to the apex court was to counter the ruling of Karnataka High Court, which demanded a total revision on the policy.

However, the government had, during the last hearing, informed the court that the essential drug list is being prepared by the health ministry and will be ready by June 15. The Court in turn allowed the government to submit the list when the case is coming for next hearing.

It may be recalled that the Karnataka HC, while granting a stay on the Policy had adjudged that the policy was "arbitrary and unreasonable and violative of relevant provisions of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution only to the extent of the price control mechanism adopted in the policy to determine drugs under price control".

The petitioners had contended that the Pharmaceutical Policy 2002 had been framed like a business policy and if it were allowed to enforce it would take away the essential and life saving drugs out of the ambit of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) which was highly detrimental to public interest on a detailed consideration of rival contention. Following which, the bench held that it found the impugned Pharmaceutical Policy 2002 was arbitrary, unreasonable and violated the Constitution and the Essential Services Act of 1995 Article 14 L and 21 of the Constitution only to the extent of price control mechanism adopted in policy to determine drug under price control as it defeats the entire purpose of equitable distribution of essential drugs in the basket of drugs in the impugned policy. Accordingly, the High Court directed the respondents including National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to consider and formulate the appropriate criteria so as to ensure that the essential and life saving drugs do not fall out of price control.