New Indian drug price cuts of 10%-70%

In India, the prices of costly essential medicines are set to fall 30%-70% and those of low-end brands 10%-30% once the new drug pricing policy comes into force, according to a note by the Federal Government's Cabinet alongside the new policy currently circulated among relevant ministries, reports the Marketletter's New Delhi correspondent.

The note said the price fall would be applicable to about 8% of all drugs sold in the country. They include painkillers such as diclofenac and ibuprofen, cardiovascular drugs like isosorbide dinitrate, antihypertensives such as losartan and amlodipine maleate, antibiotics like ceftriaxone and costly cancer therapeutics such as gemcitabine and paclitaxel.

The new Indian price policy to be approved by the Federal Cabinet extends price control, now restricted to 74 key ingredients and formulations derived from them, to 354 drugs on the essential list (Marketlettters passim). The costs of medicines presently under price controls, accounting for a quarter of the pharmaceutical market, will remain frozen at their current levels for one year, according to the Cabinet note.