The prices of drugs not covered under the Drugs (Price Control) Order have generally come down while in other cases, the increase was marginal in the recent times, if the survey undertook for the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is any indication.

“As per the Secondary Stock Audit Report of ORG-IMS for the month of April, 2010, which presently covers around 60,000 packs in the non-scheduled category, the percentage of packs whose prices have increased on monthly basis during 2009-2010 is only in the range of 0.0003 to 4.75 while the remaining have shown stable of decline in prices,” according to official sources.

The common reasons for rise in the prices of medicines, normally stated by the industry and trade included rise in the price of raw materials which, inter-alia, includes increase in the raw material cost, packing material cost, conversion cost and packing charges cost, rise in the cost of production/import, rise in the cost of transport, foreign rates, and rise in the cost of utilities like fuel, power, diesel etc. Besides, in the case of imported medicines, the reasons cited are the rise in value and depreciation of rupee and changes in taxes and duties, sources said.

The NPPA has fixed/revised the prices of scheduled bulk drugs in 488 cases and 10530 formulations since its inception. Of these, the prices of 8 scheduled bulk drugs and derivatives and 190 formulations were fixed/revised during the period 2010-11 (1st April, 2010 to 31st July, 2010).

In respect to non-scheduled drugs, the monthly reports of ORG-IMS and the information furnished by individual manufacturers are utilized for the purpose of monitoring prices of non-scheduled formulations. Wherever a price increase beyond 10 per cent per annum is noticed, the manufacturer is asked to bring down the price voluntarily failing which, subject to prescribed conditions, action is imitated under paragraph 10(b) of the DPCO’s 95 for fixing the price of the formulation in public interest.