All India Chemist and Distributors Federation (AICDF) has now sent in a proposal to the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the proposed National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy, (NPPP) 2011 calling for making vaccines and formulations in treating critical and chronic conditions to be brought under price control. The move would make these drugs more affordable.

In this regard, AICDF has insisted that all vaccines and formulations used in the treatment of cancer, HIV, nephrology, cardiology, diabetes should be compulsorily brought under price control irrespective of the source of origin be it imported or indigenous or patented to make it more accessible to the consumer at reasonable and affordable prices, stated Arun Mehta, member, AICDF.

The AICDF represented by its president Kailash Gupta, general secretary A N Mohan, organizing secretary Ashok Khandelwal, Ashish Diwan, Arun Mehta, Ranjit Patra, Kailash Agarwal welcomed the proposal of Health Ministry to regulate the prices of 348 drugs by including them in the National List of Essential Medicines- NLEM-2011.

AICDF strongly advocates for pricing of drugs on the basis of universally accepted principles of cost-based pricing not as proposed to price the drugs on the marked based pricing policy in the draft. This calculation is arrived on the basis of price on weighted average of three top selling drugs in the market. However, this would be detrimental to the consumer interest as the demands  are often created by aggressive sale promotion.

“All new molecules should also be brought under the ambit of DPCO providing reasonable MAPE (Maximum Allowable Post Manufacturing Expenses) to the manufacturers. A study of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority on the price of cancer drugs reveals a price difference of 1300 per cent for the same drug between two companies,” stated the Federation in its letter to the Group of Ministers.

Owning the social responsibility of the trade towards public, AICDF agrees to the proposal for retaining the existing trade margin of 10 & 20 on MRP in the new policy, stated AICDF.

Further the Federation has requested for the formation of an independent committee of all stake holders including trade associations under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to monitor the price control mechanism from time to time.