The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), representing nearly five lakh chemists across the country, will move Supreme Court against the DPCO 2013 as it believes that the new price order is irrational and not in the interests of the patients.

The association is of the view that the new pricing policy notified by the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP) on May 15 this year, is not justified as it is not cost based and would benefit pharma manufacturers who produce low cost drugs. Besides, companies marketing big brands will increase the drug prices owing to the competitive environment.

AIOCD general secretary, Suresh Gupta said, "Besides the revision of the new DPCO, we would file a plea before the Supreme Court to address our long pending demand since 1995 of revising margins on the 74 drugs which are still at 16 per cent and eight per cent for retailers and wholesalers respectively. The pharma trade is bound to suffer more loss as the new pricing policy mandates further margin reduction of four per cent and two per cent respectively for retailers and wholesalers on 348 drugs as per new pricing regime."

"The unanimous decision to move court was based on a resolution taken on 14 June, 2013 in a meeting of chemists from across the country when the first batch of price revisions on 151 drugs was announced by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). We also took up the matter with DoP secretary D S Kalha, but did not get a satisfactory answer," Gupta explained.

The simple average formula is currently being contested in the Supreme Court by the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a civil society group. AIOCD is further planning to take the case forward as intervenors in the case.

According to the new pricing policy, the ceiling price will be based on the simple average of the prices of all brands of a drug that have a market share of at least one per cent. The national list of essential medicines lists 348 bulk drugs that are sold as 650 formulations. The new prices, fixed as per the DPCO formula, will come into effect within 45 days of the NPPA notification.