The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (C&PC) will directly interact with 13 drug companies that were non-responsive to the directives of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to reduce the prices of their select non-scheduled formulation packs. The NPPA has already passed on the details of the companies and the 32 non-scheduled formulations that failed to respond to its directives in the last six months to the department.

According to official sources, the companies involved are Bharat Serums Vaccines Pvt. Ltd, Nicholas Piramal, Cipla Ltd., Cadilla Healthcare Ltd., Intas Lab (P) Ltd., Gresha Lab, Maneesh Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Wockhardt, Wings Pharmaceuticals, Shreya Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, Khandelewal Labs, Dr Reddys Labs and Andre Labs.

NPPA had noticed unreasonable price variation in 64 formulation packs marketed by 32 pharmaceutical companies. Once the authority issued the directives, 19 companies voluntarily reduced the prices of their concerned formulations. In the case of three companies, NPPA found the price increase justified. Only those 13 companies who chose to be silent will now approach Department of C&PC for a direct interaction. The authority has also closed one case of Intas Pharmaceuticals after Department of C&PC directive.

The cases that have been forwarded to Department of C&PC are of Tetglob injection, Stemetil tablet, Surbitrate tablet, Mebex tablet and Suspension, Gardinal tablet, Neo Marcazole tablet, Phenargan injection, Refresh Tears Eye Drop, Alerid-D tablet, Oxalgin-DP, Calpol, Acitrom tab, Duolution-L tab, Utergin tab, Mopaday tab, Practin tab, Libotryp tab, Diclowin Plus tab, Lecoday tab, Emidoxyn tab, Robinaxol-D, Vermissol tab, Relent tab, Sorbitrate tab and Phenergan tablets.