With new Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013 in place even with a case is pending in the Supreme Court on the pharmaceutical policy for final verdict, the public interest groups are planning to file a fresh affidavit in the backdrop of the DPCO.

“We have been waiting for the date of the hearing of the case. Now the court is on leave and the new DPCO has been notified even before final judgement on the issue. We are working on it and would be filing a fresh affidavit based on the formula of price fixing in the DPCO,” said Dr Mira Shiva of All India Drugs Action Network (AIDAN) said.

AIDAN had filed the public interest litigation in 2003, prompting the Apex Court to interfere in the case and virtually forcing the Government to come out with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP). The court was to hear the case after the policy was notified. It was scheduled hearing on January 15, but was not taken up. Fresh date is yet to be given.

The public interest groups even raise questions about whether the new DPCO which laid down the formula for market-based pricing would be legally tenable as the case was also on whether it should be cost-based or market-based pricing.

“Now the formula and norms are announced. We will be working out the prices of essential drugs based on this formula and make a comparison with the prices if the cost-based mechanism would be adopted. We had already filed the affidavit for cost-based pricing earlier. The fresh affidavit will be based on the DPCO,” she said.

The new DPCO, framed in line with the policy was made into effect from May 15 by the Government and it laid down principles and mechanism of fixing the prices of 348 essential medicines. Promulgated under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the new DPCO replaces the 1995 Order and lays down the framework of the drug policy approved by the Cabinet in November 2012 and notified by the Government later in December 2012. The new DPCO puts the mechanism for regulating the prices of 348 drugs, instead of 74 drugs in the earlier order.

The public interest groups are also not happy with the present policy which was concerned about just pricing of some drugs which may not be prescribed by the medical practitioners widely. They call for a rational and comprehensive pharmaceutical policy to make drugs affordable and accessible to the people.