The Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Ram Vilas Paswan has called upon the pharma industry to develop a mechanism so as to reduce the drug prices and make them affordable to the common man.

A number of issues were discussed and decisions taken during the first meeting of the Pharma Advisory Forum that was held on Saturday at New Delhi. A key decision was strengthening of State Drugs Controllers along with the NPPA. A special DPCO cell should be set up in each state to monitor the prices of drugs. It was decided that in the interest of the consumer, a patient information slip giving the use and the side effects of the drug in the layman's language should be kept inside each pack of medicines.

It was also decided that the Pharma Advisory Forum should be given a statutory status in order to make it more effective. DPCO would be suitably amended to include a provision regarding constitution and working of the Pharma Advisory Forum.

It was decided that a meeting of a Pharma Advisory Forum would be held at regular intervals on a quarterly basis. The next meeting of the forum will be held in the month of May, 2006.

During the one-day deliberation some important suggestions also came and are being considered by the government. These include revision of the trade margins for anti-cancer and HIV/AIDS drugs to 8 per cent for whole sale and 16 per cent for retailers. This was suggested by the representative of All India Organizations of Chemists and Druggist (AIOCD).

It was also suggested that the drugs which are used for longer periods should be brought under price control. It was suggested by the representatives of state governments that nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and medical devices should also be made part of the Drug and Cosmetic Act and the quality and prices of these should also be monitored. Suggestions were also made for the effective monitoring of the prices of imported drugs.