The Pharmaceutical Advisory Forum, which held its meeting in Delhi on April 23, has recommended brining generic-generic drugs of Cetrizine, Omeperazole and Nimuslide under price control with higher MAPE and 50 per cent trade margin, comprising 15 per cent to the wholesaler and 35 per cent to the retailer.

The meeting, chaired by Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, also decided to set up a panel to examine introduction of a ceiling on promotional and marketing expenses of companies so that the prices of drugs could be brought down. The panel would also chalk out ways to fix ceiling on the prices at which the new drugs are introduced in the market. The reports of the panel in this regard would be discussed in the next meeting.

The Forum urged the state governments to issue directions to doctors in Government Hospitals to prescribe only generic-generic medicines, and called upon the drug companies to ensure that prices of medicines are cut by 4.58 per cent to pass on the benefit of cut in excise duty. The meeting, which stressed on the early finalisation of the draft pharma policy, also called for opening generic drug stores initially one in each district and supply of drugs by pharma PSUs to them.

It was announced that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority will start a 24 hour call centre with the toll free number shortly for registering complaints on medicine prices. The call centre will also guide the caller on the complaints lodged by them.

The 4th Meeting of the Forum was attended by Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers B K Handique, health ministers from Himachal Pradesh and UP, members of the consultative committee attached to the Chemicals Ministry, senior officials, health secretaries and drug controllers from different States, representatives of the industry and NGOs.

The minister also released compendium of all the notifications (bilingual) issued by NPPA since its inception and the latest Compendium of all the prices fixed by NPPA. The meeting also witnessed inauguration of NPPA-CIFG (Centre for Information Facilitation and Grievances) facility at pilot centre through internet at North Block, New Delhi and announcement of setting up of a centre for development of Pharma SMEs in NIPER.

Two branded OTC products from IDPL - (i) 28 Pills, oral contraceptive pills for women (ii) Lyte-Up Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) and Meropenem injection from HAL - Sterile Meropenem Trihydrate injection under the trade name HALPEN - useful in combating life-threatening infections were also launched on the occasion.