Panel to review prices of drugs, medical devices

New Delhi: A new Drugs and Medical Devices (Control) Order for regulating the prices of essential medicines and medical devices is in the offing.

The government has constituted a panel to look for reforms in pricing for drugs and medical devices. The committee will evaluate the availability of medicines and medical devices, the pricing of essential medicines while providing incentives to the industry to maintain growth and build sustainability in exports.

“With the approval of the competent authority, a committee is constituted for reforms in the Pricing Framework for Drugs and Medical Devices,” the government order dated March 12 said.

“There has been no framework for medical devices. In fact, the devices were brought into the law only in 2020. So essentially, a framework, which was created for drugs more than 10 years ago was being used to also regulate medical devices,”Arunish Chawla, secretary DoP, told ET.

The committee will consist of three core members including the secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) and senior economic adviser, Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). It will also have two special invitees from the industry including the secretary general, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) and the CEO of Indian Drugs Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA).

The committee will see how to balance price and availability of essential medicines, while providing incentives to the industry to sustain growth and exports and consider institutional reforms within the NPPA. It will also look to designing a price moderation framework for medical devices, while providing incentives to the industry to sustain growth and minimize imports.