Drug pricing regulator NPPA has revised ceiling prices of 22 formulations of Schedule-I under Drugs (Price Control) Amendment Order, 2016 and Retail Prices of 13 formulations under DPCO, 2013 in related notification dated August 17.

Name of the scheduled formulations are atropine injection, ibuprofen tablet -200mg, ibuprofen-400mg, neostigmine injection, carbamazepine oral liquid, diazepam suppository, phenobarbitone injection, nitrofurantoin tablet, rifampicin, primaquine tablet, imatinib mesylate tablet, procarbazine capsule, tamoxifen tablet, misoprostol tablet, salbutamol table, ritonavir tablet, primaquine tablet, cyclosporine oral liquid and efavirenz tablet.

Name of another 13 formulations are amlodipine +metoprolol tablet (Starpress-AM XL 25), amlodipine +metoprolol tablet (Amlodac M25), glimepiride tablet (Glucoryl 4mg), r-Hu erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) injection (Renocrit 4000), zoledronic acid infusion, doxorubicin HCl pegylated liposomal injection, telmisartan+ chlorthalidone tablet, metformin HCl SR+ voglibose+ glimepiride tablet, paroxetine hcl+ clonazepam capsule (Clonotril P 25mg), phenylephrine HCl+ chlorpheniramine maleate+paracetamol+sodium citrate+ menthol syrup (Sudin Kid +), phenylephrine HCl+chlorpheniramine maleate+paracetamol+ sodium citrate+ menthol syrup (Nablok-New).

Set up in 1997, NPPA is entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharma products, enforcement of provisions of DPCO and monitoring of prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs.

“All the existing manufacturers of scheduled formulations, selling the branded or generic or both the versions of scheduled formulations at a price higher than the ceiling price (plus local taxes as applicable) so fixed and notified by the government, shall revise the prices of all such formulations downward not exceeding the ceiling price specified,” said the drug price regulator.

NPPA had fixed the ceiling price for 123 medicines in July. Overall, since April of this year, it has put fresh ceiling prices for a total 316 drugs.

Moreover, NPPA fixed the retail prices of 51 new medicines during the past month, bringing the cumulative figure for 2016 to 2017 to 90. The regulator also identified 118 cases of overcharging.

Based on the new National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), the government had on March 14 notified the Drugs (Price Control) Amendment Order, 2016. It has 820 formulations. There were 628 formulations under the DPCO of 2013, notified in the wake of the NLEM of 2011.