NPPA asks hospitals to display revised price list of cardiac stents

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on 22 February 2017 asked hospitals to display revised price list of cardiac stents. In its notification, the authority said that the state drug controllers have been sensitized on this issue.

The notification also said that it will inspect more hospitals in the coming days to check the compliance with its price cap order issued on 14 February 2017.

Besides, the authority also warned the manufacturers and importers against shortage and said the companies were under legal obligation to maintain smooth production and supply of coronary stents.

The authority has said, if there is any non-availability or withdrawal of stents it should inform to NPPA immediately.

Background

Earlier, the authority has slashed the prices of the life saving coronary stents by up to 85 per cent by capping them at Rs 7260 for Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Rs 29600 for Drug Eluting Stents (DES). These prices are exclusive of VAT and other local taxes. The average MRP in the market for BMS was Rs 45 thousand and for DES Rs 1 lakh 21 thousand.

The prices were slashed in line of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of affordable, quality healthcare for all.

As per the notification issued on 14 February 2017, NPPA is authorised to recover the overcharged amount along with 15 per cent interest. In

For addressing the grievances of the common people, two mobile apps, Pharma Jan Samadhan and Pharma Sahi Daam, were launched on which aggrieved person register complaints and the Ministry can act swiftly to resolve it.

Coronary stent

A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It keeps the arteries open in the treatment of coronary heart diseases. It is used in a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

At present market size of India made stents is roughly 30 per cent and cardiovascular diseases are major cause of death in India.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

Formed on 29 August 1997, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is a government regulatory agency. It controls the prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India. The organisation has been given the powers to enforce and limit the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO), 1995/2013.

Powers assigned to NPPA includes

• To fund studies regarding pricing of drugs

• It monitors drug shortage and take actions to rectify them, if any

• It collects and maintains data of import and export of drugs, market shares of pharma companies and their profits.

• It handles legal disputes that arise out of policies created by it.

• It advices the Union Government in matters of drug policies and pricing.