Question : Good Quality Medicine

(a) whether the Government proposes to fix the price of medicines used for treatment of lifestyle diseases;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details regarding the reasons for shortage of life saving medicines;
(d) the details regarding the action taken for ensuring the availability of life saving medicines;
(e) whether the Government proposes to include more medicines in the list of essential medicines so as to provide the same in a fixed price and if so, the details thereof; and
(f) whether the Government proposes to start/setup pharmaceutical companies exclusively for production of good quality medicines of Jan Aushadi and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS
(SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

(a) & (b): As per the extant provisions of Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013), the ceiling price of all scheduled formulations figuring in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) are fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). However, there is no separate categorization in the said NLEM about drugs for lifestyle diseases. The manufacturers of scheduled drugs are required to sell their products at a price equal to or lower than the ceiling price. Further, NPPA monitors the prices of non-scheduled drugs so as to ensure that increase in their Maximum Retail Price (MRP) is not more than 10% of what was prevalent during the preceding twelve months. The details of various medicines under price control are available at the website of NPPA, i.e., www.nppaindia.nic.in.

(c) and (d): The manufacturers of scheduled formulations are required to submit quarterly returns of production/ import of scheduled formulations and their bulk drugs/active pharmaceutical ingredients to NPPA. Whenever shortage is reported by the State Drug Controllers or when the matter comes to the notice of NPPA, remedial steps are taken for ensuring availability of drug by impressing upon manufacturers to rush the stocks to the places of shortage.

(e): National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is notified and revised by MoHFW from time to time. Once notified by the MoHFW, NLEM is incorporated in the first schedule of DPCO for regulating the price of the same. The details of the price fixed by NPPA for medicines are available on the website of NPPA, i.e., www.nppaindia.nic.in.

(f): There is no such proposal under consideration of the Department of Pharmaceuticals. PMBI already follows a robust practice of procurement from WHO-GMP certified manufacturing plants and quality control for medicines sold through Janaushadhi Kendras.

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