New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has increased the retail price of anti-rabies immunoglobulin while fixing the retail prices of 39 drug formulations covering therapies for hypertension, diabetes, HIV, heart disease and eye infections, as part of its latest pricing exercise under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO).

According to a gazette notification issued after the authority’s 148th meeting, the retail price of anti-rabies immunoglobulin has been revised upward to Rs 119.48 per millilitre (ml) from Rs 112.19 per ml, marking an increase of 6.49 per cent.

The revision follows the NPPA’s decision in March this year to permit a 0.64956 per cent annual increase in the prices of medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), based on changes in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

The authority also fixed the retail prices of several commonly used formulations to ensure the affordability of essential medicines. Among them, a fixed-dose combination (FDC) of amlodipine, bisoprolol and telmisartan tablets, prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, has been priced at Rs 14.74 per tablet.

Another cardiology formulation comprising clopidogrel, aspirin and atorvastatin capsules, used to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, has been assigned a retail price of Rs 6.37 per capsule.

In ophthalmology, the NPPA fixed the retail price of nepafenac and moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution at Rs 68.64 per ml.

The notification stated that any manufacturer or marketing company charging prices above the notified retail rates would be required to deposit the overcharged amount along with applicable interest under the relevant provisions of the DPCO.

The NPPA said the fixation and revision of ceiling and retail prices is a routine regulatory exercise aimed at implementing the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, regulating both controlled and decontrolled medicines, and ensuring that essential drugs remain affordable for patients.

In a separate decision, the pricing regulator granted a five-year exemption from price control to Pneubevax 14, India’s first 14-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine, developed and manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E.

The authority said the vaccine qualified for exemption under Paragraphs 32(i) and 32(ii) of the DPCO, 2013, as it is covered by a granted patent and meets the criteria applicable to new drugs developed through indigenous research and development.

Under these provisions, a patented new drug developed domestically and not manufactured elsewhere is exempt from the price control order for five years from the date commercial production begins in India.

The NPPA has directed Biological E to furnish details of the dates of commercial production and commercial marketing of the vaccine in the country, along with the price to retailer (PTR) and the maximum retail price (MRP) fixed by the company.

–IANS

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