National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)files cases against top firms to recover Rs 3,600 crore

If the rising cost of private healthcare wasn't bleeding patients dry already, the government has now found that top pharmaceutical companies continue to sell medicines above officially fixed prices

 

The pricing anomaly has been caught by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) which has filed 22 cases this year alone, sending out demand notices that add up to Rs 221.78 crore. 

Only Rs 54.23 crore of this has been recovered from pharmaceutical companies so far.

The NPPA registered 1,040 cases between 1997 and June 2014 against major companies. 

 

 

Of the total Rs 3603.04 crore of the overcharged amount, interest included, the NPPA has only been able to recover only Rs 341.11 crore from pharma companies in these 17 years.

 

 

Cadila healthcare Ltd was been found to be overpricing Deriphyllin 300 that is used by asthmatics in 2007-08 and slapped with a Rs 11.95 crore fine. The Govt is yet to recover the money from the company. Cipla earned Rs 184.57 crore by charging extra for Ciplox-TZ in 2007-08. The Govt is yet to recover the money in that case too.

Dr Reddy's Labs has yet to release an amount of Rs 10.71 crore for overpricing Norfloxacin, a popular antibiotic

The NPPA has also been unable to recover an amount of Rs 79.37 lakh from Glaxo India Limited for overpricing theophylline-based formulations (Theo-PA Tabs.)

The Drug (Prices Control) Order 2013, empowers the NPPA to regulate prices of 348 essential drugs. As per the new DPCO 2013, all strengths and dosages specified in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) are under price control

Whenever pharmaceutical companies have been found to be selling some of their medicines to the consumers at a price higher than the price notified by the NPPA, cases are registered against such companies.