An abrupt price hike of ammonia by fertilizer companies like RCF and KRIBCO, have suddenly pushed up costs of production of pharmaceutical companies making some of the widely prescribed anti dysentery drugs like metronidazole, orinidazole and tinidazole since last few weeks.

The fertilizer companies have jacked up the price of ammonia to Rs 28 per litre from Rs 16 without any advance notice to the pharma companies. The price hike by RCF and KRIBCO is in line with a global hardening of the ammonia price, it is learnt.

Ammonia is one of the key inputs for the manufacture of bulk drugs, intermediates and some other chemicals. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is mainly used for producing drugs like Orinidazole, metronidazole, metrobenazole and tinidazole, which are manufactured by Mumbai-based pharma companies like JB Chemicals and Aarti Drugs.

The pharma companies manufacturing metronidazole are in a dilemma, as they cannot increase the price of metronidazole, which is under price control. Any corresponding hike in the price of metronidazole has to be approved by NPPA, which usually takes some months to grant any revision, informed sources said. The companies making other anti dysentery drugs can revise their prices as they are outside price control.

As the pharmaceutical companies cannot import the ammonia individually, they have to depend on the government for imported ammonia as well. The pharmaceutical companies have thus, no other option but to stop production to avoid huge losses.

The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has not yet responded to the plea of drug manufacturers to roll back the price of ammonia. NPPA has also taken up the case of the drug units despite their representations.