The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued notifications by fixing and revising the prices of 105 formulation packs and four bulk drugs along with introducing Conversion Cost (CC), Packing Charges (PC), Packing Materials (PM) and Process Loss (PL) norms of metered dose powder inhaler in cartridge.

The price revision for formulation packs include various strengths and pack size of salbutamol inhaler and its combination, naproxen and paracetamol combination, carbidopa and levodopa combination, analgin, dexamethasone with combination and combination drops, theophylline anhy syrup, multivitamin syrup and analgin injections.

Further, the NPPA has fixed prices for Novomix 50 Flexpen manufactured or imported by Novo Nordisk (India) Pvt Ltd, various strengths of levodopa and carbidopa combination tablets of Natco Pharma Ltd and E-Mycin suspension 60 ml Bottle with M Cup of Themis Pharmaceuticals, through the notifications.

Maximum Retail Price of Vitalux Plus TR tablet 30's bottle of Novartis India Ltd, various strengths and pack sizes of Depo Medrol from Pfizer Products India Pvt Ltd, various strengths of monocomponent insulin of Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt Ltd, prednisolone acetate 5ml ophthalmic suspension of Alcon Lab (India) Pvt Ltd, Pred Forte 10ml Vial eye drop suspension of Allergan India Pvt Ltd, various strengths of Calron 300mlPhial/Bottle from East India Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd and Cinkara 500ml bottle with carton manufactured or imported by Humdard (WAKF) Laboratories were increased.

The maximum sales price of four bulk drugs - the antibiotics sulphamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, the pain killer aspirin and the anti malarial amodiaquine Hcl - were also revised, advising the formulators using these scheduled bulk drugs to make changes within 15 days from the date of notification, ie, July 21, 2010.

Along with revising the prices of the formulation packs, the NPPA has also fixed CC, PC, PM norms to fix the costs at Rs 4.72, Rs 5.24, Rs 28.39 respectively for metered dose powder inhaler in cartridge. The PL of raw material for these products will be five per cent while of packing material, it is fixed at four per cent.