Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Prices of many essential drugs are set to rise from today, with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the country’s regulatory agency, announcing a hike of up to 1.7% on medications. This move, driven by inflation-based price revision, will add a financial burden to households already grappling with medical expenses.
Rising costs of raw materials led to surge in medicine prices
The increase is attributed to the rising costs of raw materials required by pharmaceutical companies for manufacturing these essential medicines. Prices of these controlled-category medicines, including those of cancer, malaria, Tuberculosis, diabetes, heart-relatedconcerns, antibiotics, stents(for heart patients), and pain-killers will rise.
Dr Narendra Gupta, who is associated with state-based NGOs working in public health, said that the NPPA, which fixes prices of pharmaceutical drugs, can increase them up to 10%. “This time, the reason cited is the increasing cost of raw material,” he said.
All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists general secretary Rajiv Singhal said, “The move would provide relief to the pharmaceutical industry as the cost of raw materials and other expenses are rising. Regarding the trade, it will take another two to three months to see the new prices of medicines in the market, as there are approximately 90 days’worth of saleable medicines in the market at any given time.”
