The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), entrusted to implement the new pharmaceutical pricing policy that sought to cut down the prices of essential drugs, has fixed the prices of 51 more formulation packs in accordance with the new Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO).

The formulations whose prices will go down as the new price fixing formula includes packs based on popular anti-allergic cetrizine, antibiotics like amoxicillin and acyclovir, anti-cancer drug cisplatin, blood pressure drug nifedipine, and antiseptic solution providone iodine, among others.

The formulations based on methotrexate, leflunomide, phenobarbitone, phenytoin sodium, sodium valproate, amoxicillin+clavulinic acid, nitrofurantoin, clotrimazole, acyclovir, lamivudine, cyclosporine, cytosine arabinoside, doxorubicin, flutamide, carboplatin, tamoxifen citrate, filgrastim, protamine sulphate, diltiazem, nifedipine, sodium nitroprusside, miconazole, povidone iodine, clomiphene citrate, methyl ergometrine, alprazolam, diclofenac, sodium valproate, amphotericin B, zidovudine, cytosine arabinoside, etoposide, carboplatin, enoxaparin, promethazine, pyridostigmine vecuronium, oxytocin, and fluoxetine hydrochloride are also in the list.

This is the third lot of drugs whose prices were fixed by the NPPA after the new DPCO was notified. Earlier last month, the regulator fixed the prices of 191 formulations which come under the national list of essential medicines. in two batches. Last lot included packs based on drugs like Albendazole, Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Ceftazidine, Amikacin, Artesunate, Amlodipine, and Atorvastatin.

According to the new pricing policy, the ceiling of prices is fixed based on the simple average of the prices of all brands of that drug that have a market share of at least one per cent. The national list of essential medicines lists 348 bulk drugs, which are sold as 650 formulations.

“The manufacturers of above mentioned scheduled formulations having maximum retail price higher than the ceiling price specified shall revise the MRP to an amount not exceeding the ceiling price plus local taxes, wherever applicable in accordance with paragraph 13 (1) and 24 of the DPCO, 2013. The manufacturers may add local taxes only if they have paid actually to the Government on the ceiling price mentioned,” said the notification dated July 1.