Diabetes, anxiety drugs to cost less as price caps set in
1 min read 02 Jul 2023, 10:07 PM ISTThe NPPA move to fix the ceiling for retail prices of different combinations of diabetes drugs comes soon after the ICMR said in a report the number of Indian diabetes patients has jumped by 44% in four years—from 70 million in 2019 to more than 100 million today.
PremiumNEW DELHI : India’s drug price regulator has capped the price of two formulations and the retail price of 51 new drugs that are largely used for treating diabetes and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s (NPPA) move to fix the ceiling for retail prices of different combinations of diabetes drugs comes soon after the Indian Council Medical Research said in a report the number of Indian diabetes patients has jumped by 44% in only four years—from 70 million in 2019 to more than 100 million today.
And around 15.3% of the population—at least 136 million people—are pre-diabetic.
The regulator directed all drug manufacturers to revise the prices of these formulations downward. Manufacturers not complying with the order will have to deposit the overcharged amount with the government.
According to a government notification, NPPA fixed the retail price of vildagliptin and metformin hydrochloride at ₹13.68 per tablet. This drug is a combination of two medicines that control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
The retail price of each tablet of the drug combination sitagliptin, pioglitazone and metformin hydrochloride, which is also used to manage type 2 diabetes, has been fixed at ₹17.69.
Similarly, dapagliflozin+metformin+vildagliptin, used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has been fixed at ₹19.11 per tablet.
In addition to this, the price of etoricoxib and paracetamol tablets used for pain and fever management has been set at ₹8.99. The price of paroxetine (controlled release) and clonazepam capsules has been fixed at ₹ 15.81. These are used to treat depression and anxiety.
The price of ciprofloxacin and dexamethasone eye drops, used for treating bacterial infection and inflammation, has been fixed at ₹2.05 per 1ml unit.
NPPA also fixed the ceiling price of Dabigatran capsules (110 mg and 150 mg) at ₹31.81 and ₹35.59, respectively. This medicine is used to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Replies to queries sent to the department of pharmaceuticals were awaited at the time of publication.
Dr Seema Gulati at Diabetes Foundation of India said lowering drug prices was only part of a massive effort needed to reduce the high incidence of diabetes in India.“Even as the government is making interventions, making drug prices cheaper and accessible to the people, lifestyle modification is missing in our country. So, a lot of policy changes are required in terms of labelling of packaged food items, awareness campaigns," she said.“People have become more sedentary and our eating habits are poor. They are not incorporating exercise routine in daily lives. Not only are adults diagnosed with diabetes, but children too are found to be diabetic with insulin resistance."
