127 meds may get cheaper after 5th price cap

Kolkata: For the fifth consecutive time in the current year, some medicines are set to be cheaper after the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on Tuesday capped prices of 127 drugs. A number of medicines like paracetamol have seen prices declining for the second time this year. However, prices of a few medicines like montelukast and metformin have increased.

The list of 127 drugs that NPPA came out with includes medicines like paracetamol, amoxycillin, rabeprazole and metformin. Many of these are used by patients on a regular basis. Paracetamol (650mg), which is sold for Rs 2.3 per tablet at present, is now capped at Rs 1.8 per tablet. Earlier this year, the NPPA had reduced prices of combination formulation of paracetamol. The price of amoxycillin and potassium clavulanate was also brought down from Rs 22.3 to Rs 16.8 per tablet.

The price of moxifloxacin (400mg) has also been drastically reduced to Rs 22.8 from the current Rs 31.5 per tablet. Used for treating bacterial infections like pneumonia, the price of this medicine was reduced for the first time this year. However, prices of a few medicines like metformin (500mg) were increased from Rs 1.7 to Rs 1.8 in the new list. Used in the treatment of Type II diabetes, prices of combination formulation of metformin have been changed a number of times in the past one year.

Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), said: “This is a welcome move. But some medicines like paracetamol have already seen lowest prices. With the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) on the rise, there is less room left for the manufacturers to curtail the prices further. I hope the supplies are not affected in the future.”

According to Sajal Ganguly, secretary of the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association (BCDA), medicines with the new price tag will start arriving by January-end. “It normally takes a month for the medicines with new prices to arrive in the market. We should get the new stock by the end of next month,” he said.