National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
NPPA
- The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority was established in 1997 as an independent body of experts to regulate the pricing of drugs.
- It has been constituted as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
- The Authority has been entrusted with the task of
- Fixation/revision of prices of pharmaceutical products;
- Enforcement of provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013.
- Monitoring of the prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs in the country.
Drug Price Control Orders:
- Drug Price Control Orders are issued by the Government of India, in exercise of the powers conferred under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, for enabling the Government to declare a ceiling price for essential and life saving medicines.
- The latest Drug Price Control Order (DPCO-2013) was issued in 2013.
NPPA’s Role in Fixing Drug Prices
- The NPPA fixes ceiling prices of medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and incorporated in Schedule-I to the DPCO, 2013.
- All manufacturers, marketers and importers of scheduled medicines are required to sell their products within such ceiling price (plus applicable local taxes).
- The ceiling prices of scheduled medicines are revised annually on the basis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) by NPPA.
- Non-scheduled drugs are allowed an increase of up to 10 per cent in prices every year, which is monitored by the NPPA.
- NPPA can also fix the price for non-scheduled drugs by invoking extraordinary powers in public interest, under DPCO.