SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (SKB) (currently Glaxo SmithKline India) has on February 11 filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court judgment favouring the DPCO provision relating to 15 days deadline to implement drug price revisions notified by the government. Karnataka HC had given a ruling in November after hearing the petition filed by SKB questioning this DPCO clause.

Since the Karnataka HC judgment and the subsequent NPPA note on reinstating its Order to implement the price revision within 15 days from the date of notification is a matter which is not acceptable to the industry as whole, the industry Associations, Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) have, therefore, decided to join the SKB appeal in the Supreme Court as co-petitioners.

"It was expected that the government would consider our representation against the NPPA announcement reinforcing the price change deadline after the HC judgment by coming out with a clarification accommodating our view points. But if the NPPA is not in a position to respond to it that way, we have no other option but to become party to the appeal along with the company," said Yogin Majmudar, president, IDMA.

This would enable us to put the industry views on the issue clearly before the court. Since there was government clarifications on the same DPCO clause in favour of the industry and also the records of the practice what followed by the industry till now, these have to be presented properly in the Supreme Court to review the Karnataka HC judgment, he added. "We believe that in the SKB case hearing at the Division Bench of the Karnataka these aspects were inadequately represented by the company. Otherwise it would have considered the impracticability of the Order," said Majmudar.

However, the official sources at the Union Ministry of Chemicals said that since though the government understand that meeting the 15 days deadline to effect the price change of drug formulations is not practical, it is not fair for the government to come out with a further clarification now since the court has given a judgment based on the Order already.