The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has put a cap on trade margin of 42 select non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines under the ‘Trade Margin Rationalization (TMR)’.

This has resulted in reduction of up to 90 per cent of maximum retail price (MRP) of 526 brands of these medicines, said an announcement by the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers. The Authority has also brought 106 non-scheduled anti-diabetic and cardiovascular drugs under price control by invoking extraordinary powers in public interest.

The total annual savings on account of revision of ceiling prices of medicines under National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), price control of anti-diabetic & cardiovascular, fixation of ceiling price of stents, knee implants and capping of TMR on anti-cancer are estimated to the tune of Rs. 12,500 crore.

During the year 2021-22, till July 31, the NPPA has fixed price of 85 medicines, including the ceiling price of one formulation and retail price of 84, while in the full year of 2020-21 it has fixed ceiling prices for 12 and retail prices of 321 formulations. It has also put trade margin rationalisation for six medical devices during the period 2021-22 so far.

The government has set up a total of 8004 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), till August 4, 2021, Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of health and family welfare and chemicals & fertilisers informed the Lok Sabha.

NPPA monitors the ceiling price of the scheduled formulations to ensure that the MRP of such formulations are within the range of ceiling price and monitors non-scheduled formulations to ensure that their MRP does not increase by more than 10 per cent during the preceding twelve months.