National Pharmacy Purchasing Association

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has mandated that pharmaceutical companies revise the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of certain medicines following the recent customs duty exemptions announced in the Union Budget 2025. This directive aims to ensure that consumers benefit from lower prices on essential medications. In a memorandum issued on February 17, the NPPA instructed all drug manufacturers and marketing firms to update their pricing lists to reflect the removal of customs duties on specified life-saving drugs. This includes prominent medications such as onasemnogene abeparvovec, used for treating spinal muscular atrophy, and asciminib, prescribed for chronic myeloid leukemia. The NPPA emphasized that any reduction in customs duties must be accurately represented in the final pricing, in compliance with the Drugs (Price Control) Order, 2013. Manufacturers are required to circulate revised price lists to dealers and regulatory authorities to maintain transparency. This move follows Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement of a full customs duty exemption on 36 life-saving drugs during the budget presentation. The government has allocated significant funds for healthcare, reflecting a 9.78% increase from the previous year, aimed at improving the overall healthcare system. The NPPA's directive highlights the importance of aligning drug prices with government policies to ensure affordability for consumers, particularly in critical health sectors.

In order to monitor the price movement of medical devices notified as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and to prevent the overcharging of these devices by the medical devices companies, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has asked all the medical device associations and manufacturers/importers /marketers to submit data as per the prescribed format in respect of all the 19 medical devices irrespective of their classification by May 31, 2017. To monitor the price movement of 19 medical devices out of 23 medical devices notified as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, the NPPA had earlier developed a format and the same was shared with the medical devices industries and associations for their comments/views. A series of meetings were held with the medical devices industries and associations for the purpose of arriving at a consensus on the format which will be used for collecting data on medical devices for monitoring.