Generic Drug Prices To Dip 60 pc As Pharma Cos To Fix Margins

New Delhi, Aug. 17 (PTI): As the government and the industry work towards an amicable solution to the drug price control proposed under the draft Pharmaceutical Policy, the pharmaceutical companies have agreed to voluntarily fix margins on unbranded generic drugs from October 2.

"We had a healthy discussion with the representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and they have agreed to voluntarily impose margins of 35 per cent for the retail and 15 for wholesale," Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters here after a meeting with representatives of the industry.

Earlier, there were no limits fixed on the margins for unbranded generic drugs and this move will help reduce the price of those drugs by as much as 60 per cent, he said, adding that these drugs contributed five per cent to the total pharmaceutical market in India.

Paswan said the government will be issuing a notification on the same as per requested by the industry.

While the industry and the government continue to have differences over the drug price control, Paswan said a 14-member committee has been formed to address various issues to find a middle path, where "the common minimum programme of the government is followed at the same time the growth of industry is not hampered".

Paswan said the committee would look into six issues, including public-private partnership to help below poverty line families, concessional prices for government procurement, competition to contain prices, monitoring (when price fluctuation of drugs exceed 20 per cent in a year) to replace price control regime.

source:-http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200608172165.htm