What is National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)?
- It is an attached office of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemical.
- Motto: Affordable medicine for all
- It enforces the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order [which was, issued under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA).]
- monitors the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps;
- It advices Government on drug policy
Pranab Sen Task Force on Drug Pricing
- In 2003 Supreme court passed an order that all essential drugs should remain under price control.
- Therefore, Government of India set up a Task Force under Dr. Pronab Sen on drug pricing.
- It submitted its final report in 2005.
- Then why the hell do we need to study it after 7 years? ans- It becomes an important [yearbook] topic for UPSC mains exam, due to the Glevac Patent Case, which has been in news recently.
- Crux is: Novartis company was refused the patent of Glevac (anti-cancer) drug in India and the judge said he was concerned with the extreme price of that drug.
Recommendations of Pranab Sen
Here are the major (and easy to remember) recommendations.
Pranab Sen
- Pranab Sen says that No need to impose a uniform price,.
- But government should indicate only a ceiling price
- The ceiling price of essential drugs should based on readily monitorable market based benchmarks, and NOT on cost of production.
- The drug regulator must maintain a data base of brands and their compositions, he should not permit pharma companies to change chemical composition of a given brand.
- Price regulation should be on the basis of ‘Essentiality’ of the drug
- Donot apply price regulation on upstream products, such as bulk drugs.
- Government should enact Drugs and Therapeutics (Regulation) Act (DATA) for price control on drugs.
- Set up National Authority of Drugs and Therapeutics (NADT).
- Adopt the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee 2003 i.e The Centre should financially support State Governments to bring their state drug control formations to a threshold level.
- All patented drugs and formulations should compulsorily be brought under price negotiation prior to the grant of marketing approval. (case CANCER DRUG;GLIVEC PATENT CASE; NOVARTIS;)
- Government should encourage Insurance companies to extend health insurance covering medicines.
- Government should recognize the role of Public sector undertaking (PSU) PSUs for producing drugs.
- All Central Government Departments must be advised to first procure their drugs from the PSUs at prices approved by NPPA
- There should be bulk purchases of drugs by Government agencies, cooperatives or consumer bodies through public-private partnership
- Central Government has set up a National Illness Assistance Fund (NIAF). It provides financial assistance to BPL patient, upto Rs.1.50 lakhs.
- Similarly State Governments should form State illness Funds (SIF)
- Government should increase the funding of Pharmaceutical Research and Development Support Fund (PRDSF).
- Reduce the excise duty on all pharmaceutical products from 16% to 8%.
- To create public awareness about drug pricing.
- Use other possible modes of enhancing public awareness like public literatures, booklets, newsletters/magazines etc
Mock MCQ: which of the following statements are correct?
- National Illness Assistance Fund (NIAF) provides monetary relief for occupational hazards faced by workers in coal and asbestos industry.
- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) falls under the domain of Health Ministry.
- Both A and B
- Neither A nor B
Mains question:
- Write a short note on the salient recommendation of Pranab Sen Task force on drug price control.
- Critiques argue that drug price control goes against the principles of free market economy, and therefore will hurt innovation in the long term. Do you agree? Justify your stand.
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At present, the government through the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), controls prices of 74 bulk drugs and their formulations.
Earlier this week, a Group of Ministers (GoM) approved a proposal to bring 348 essential drugs under government control.
readily monitorable market based benchmarks.?????
upstream products, such as bulk drugs.???
bulk drug serves are raw material.
for example I buy Aspirant (bulk drug), add some more chemicals in it and create a new tablet and sell it under the brandname “disprin” at 150% profit.
Pranab says no need to control the price of bulk drug (aspirin) but control the final drug disprin (if it is in the ‘essential drug list)
regarding readily monitorable market based benchmark, i think he has idea of something like SENSEX- observe the price movement of top 20-50 drug-brands.
MArket based benchmark: are commonly used for following the rhythm of market, it is cluster of indicators; including sensex, survey, reports etc.e.g. which are widespread disease in India as Malaria, TB, Cholera etc.
Bulk drug I have to differ with Mrunal @ this point basically bulk is any thing you purchase in a lot, but for a country bulk drug determines such drug that are widely prevalent in different kind of medicine. As you have heard e.g. a lot of druc includes lactic variants or peractymol. But you hardly hear about drugs configurtion of GLIVEC. It is due to cancer might caught 1-10% of population but general fever, vomiting are general life threatning disease. due to dehydration and like symptom in very short span of time and every year on an average 2 out of 3 go through these due to poor sanitation, unhygenic condition ;so these kind of drug are in high demand and are highly subsidized. You have seen a couple of advertisment regarding medicine of cold, headache etc.
I hope it help a little bit
you’re mixing up the concepts bulk drugs and generic drugs.
Bulk drug means any pharmaceutical product used as such or as an ingredient in any formulation. (official definition from drug control order).
Drug makers buy bulk drugs, then they either repack them in small dosage form and or add some more colors, flavors, other drugs into it and make the final product (tablets, syrup, injection etc.)
Whether it is glucon-D or Glevac, every pharma-company needs bulk drugs, irrespective of demand, disease, subsidy or patent.
Generic Drug are the copies of brand-name drugs and are the same as those brand name drugs in dosage form, safety, strength.
If the formula of GLIVEC was known, and its patent had expired, then other companies could manufacture and sell it (after getting certificates from Drug controller general of India). Such the product would be called a “generic drug” and this the prices would go down.
I am sorry if I am creating confusion rather then making them handy
Not at all. There is no need for sorry.
And this article wouldn’t have came without your comment-contribution in the mock-test series in the first place. :)
hi mrunal. please upload last 33 years main exam papers for History. We would be really thankful. please
i’ll try
I am repeatedly asking because, a history is a static subject, old questin papers of last 33 years will help us in a great extent . as complared to other subjects like, pol sc, socio, etc. plase. thank you
sir,,,,,,please send the link of hindi compulsory paper solution,if any.
sorry don’t have any.
For Compulsory Hindi, Refer to the book suggested by Prabhakar Prakash Ranjan (Rank 339 / CSE 2011)
Title: Samanya Hindi (Unique Publication)
sir, can u plz add a full article on AFSPA and Article 370 in j&k…..also i want to know about POK, its history, as i belong to POK refugee family. U hav write a lot of about dispute between india and pak but u have left that main topic……if u need my help then u can ask…..i m frm J&K
if possible may we get all of ur posts?
making notes from these is easy and time saving.
Thanks for the print and pdf option… this is going to help us in a big way… :) Thanks a lot.
but for that PDF thing to properly work, I had to remove my favorite blue border around the article :( hahaha.
i think we can manage w/o that!! ;)
Hi Mrunal Please remove the print/pdf feature
a)as like insurance schemes it has moral hazards
b)potentially reduce traffic on the site
c)sometimes comment are as useful.(most imp.)
You don’t have to give in to all the demands.
EXCELLENT MRUNAL BHAI.
can u upload the ignou material of geography? are sociology and political science material uploade complete?
sir,which book is best for public administration? & also suggest me how to preparation for history.
Dear Sir,
Please if its possible provide the ignou notes(pdf files)of pub ad and soicology, according to the sylubus..getting confused which one to download from e-gyankosh!
Dear Mrunal,
NPPA is under Dept. of Pharma, Min. of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Dear Mrunal,
NPPA is attached to Dept. of Pharmaceutical, Min. of Chemicals and Fertilizers as per its website
Where I can get redressal if I feel the essential drug price is unaffordable ?
can u please provide 10 years question papers of GEOLOGY for IAS.
Plz let me know what is meant by “..drugs configurtion of GLIVEC” as written by dark knight..
this guy seems to be copying your content : http://rupeerains dot com/jobs/more-jobs/yearbook-material-pranab-sen-taskforce-and-drug-pricing/
Both are incorrect. For second question, this National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) falls under the domain of Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers.
If I am not wrong NPPA is an attached office of Department of pharmaceuticals. Plz correct