The Supreme Court has given two weeks time to the Central government to explain its stand over the non-inclusion of several life saving drugs in the list of recently submitted essential medicines. The SC directive has come on August 1, 2003, during the hearing on a SLP challenging the order of Karnataka High Court that objected to the key aspects of the government's pharma policy 2002. While the next hearing would take place in a month, the government has been asked to make definitive affidavit about its intentions within two weeks.

The SC Bench, comprising of Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha, wanted the government to explain why important drugs like the ones used for the treatment of typhoid, hepatitis A and cardiac diseases had not been included in the essential drug list submitted before the court on July 11. The Centre had produced the 'National list of Essential Medicines 2003' which contained 354 drugs like anesthetics, analgesics, antipyretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, anti-allergics, anti-infectives, anti-migrane, anti-parkinsonism, blood products, dermatological medicines, disinfectants and antiseptics, gasterointestinal medicines, hormones, contraceptives, immunologicals, muscle relaxants, opthalmological preparations, psychotherapeutic medicines etc, which meant an addition of 75 drugs to the previous essential drugs list.

However, the SC felt that the government does not have a definite stand over the inclusion of a drug under price control category. The Bench made clear that it would not permit to put in operation the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) under the Pharmaceutical Policy 2002 till the Centre came out with a definite stand. The court has also warned of a judicial order, if the centre fails to added all life saving drugs in the list of price controlled medicines.