Government has capped the prices of 22 essential drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections and malaria among others reducing the cost in the range of 10 to 45 per cent. Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, NPPA has also fixed the retail price of 13 formulations under Drug Price Control Order, DPCO 2013.
In respect of medicines not under price control,manufacturers are allowed to increase the maximum retail price
by 10 per cent annually. The calculation for essential drugs is based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1 per cent.
The government had notified the DPCO 2013, which covers 680 formulations, with effect from May 15, 2014, replacing the 1995 order that regulated prices of only 74 bulk drugs.