The Drug Price Control Order, 2002, expected to be announced next month, will have just 30 drugs under control, it is learnt. A draft Order is being finalised by retaining just 15 out of the 67 drugs of the DPCO 1995 in the new Order.

Officials in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals at the same time are working hard to vacate the stay granted by the Bangalore High Court a few weeks ago against announcement of the new DPCO. The announcement of the Order has been delayed mainly on account of this stay and officials are hopeful to get it vacated by next month.

Several widely used drugs and currently under the DPCO 1995, namely ciprofloxacin, cloxacillin, gentamycin, metronidazole, penicillin, ranitidine, tetracycline, doxycycline, trimethoprim, sulphamethoxazole and entire range of vitamins are not in the list of 30. At the same time essential drugs like cefotaxime, chloroquine, erythromycin, ibuprofen, norfloxacin, rabies antigen, rifampicin and streptomycin continue to be under control in the new DPCO.

LIST OF DRUGS INCLUDED IN DPCO - 2002

Amikacin

Betamethasone

Bisacodyl

Calcium Carbonate

Cefotaxime

Cefuroxime

Chloroquine

Chlorpheniramine Maleate

Diclofenac Sodium

Erythromycin

Framycetin / Soframycin / Framycetin Sulphate

Glibenclamide

Glipizide

Ibuprofen

Insulin/Insulin injection (soluble) / Intermediate acting Insuling (Lente / NPH Insulin)

Metformin

Norethisterone

Norfloxacin

Pentazocine

Pheniramine Maleate

Phenobarbitone

Phenytoin

Povidone Iodine

Prednisolone

Promethazine

Rabies Antigen

Rifampicin

Salbutamol/Albuterol

Streptomycin

Xylometazoline

An interesting inclusion of an old molecule in the new DPCO is norfloxacin. The drug has been ordered to be outside DPCO 1995, only January this year by the Mumbai High Court at the end of a five-year court battle. Cipla's brand Norflox has a market share of 56.6 percent. Four key products of Aventis namely framycetin, glibenclamide, pheniramine maleate and rabies antigen are coming under price control. Knoll is another company, which has three of its products coming under price ocntrol namely insulin, ibuprofen and phenytoin.

The price control under the Pharmaceutical Policy, 2002 was to be on the basis of ORG data of March 2001 and as per a twin criteria decided by the government. As per one of the twin criteria formulations of drugs with annual turnover of Rs 25 crore and more with a single manufacturer having a market share of exceeding 50 percent was to come under control. All formulations of drugs having annual turnover exceeding Rs 10 crore with a single manufacturer having a market share of more than 90 percent was also to be under control.