The process of finalising the much-awaited national pharmaceutical policy seems have moved into the final stages with the seven-member elite panel of Ministers is likely to hold the third meeting sometime next week.

Under pressure from different quarters especially from Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry and in view of the unstable political conditions at the Centre, the members of the Group of Ministers (GoM) are reportedly keen on finalising the long-delayed document at the earliest, it is learnt.

Though the meeting of the GoM was scheduled on November 2, it was postponed in the last minute after the Cabinet meeting on the same day went beyond the scheduled time. Then the meeting was scheduled to be held later this week tentatively. However, the economic Editors conference and the engagement of many of the panel members again derailed the plans.

"We are trying to fix it for sometime next week as the GoM head Sharad Pawar is also in favour of an early date for the next meeting and finalise it at the earliest,'' an official said.

The last meeting of the GoM was held on September 12 and it took the views from the industry on the contentious issue of price control on 354 drugs, as proposed in the draft prepared by the Chemicals Ministry.

Though the members of the panel are yet to reach any consensus on the crucial points, including the price control mechanism, many of them are pressing for an early decision on the policy. Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has openly expressed his displeasure over the long delay in the finalisation of the policy.

Meanwhile, Pawar had a series of meetings with different associations from the industry, especially those who could not present their views formally before the panel.

In November last year, the Union ministry of chemicals had sent the draft pharma policy to the Cabinet which increased the span of control to 354 essential medicines, from the existing 74 drugs under Drug Price Control Order, 1995. And in January, the Prime Minister constituted the GoM which held its first meeting on April 10.