Date:12/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/12/stories/2007121250450100.htm

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Check on sale of non-regulated drugs

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has decided to crack down on illicit practices in the pharma retail industry and to check the uncontrolled sale of drugs, the prices of which have not been regulated under the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO).

The prices of drugs are regulated under the DPCO by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority . The prices of about 74 out of the 500 common bulk drugs have been brought under statutory price control by the authority.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy said the Drugs Control Department would be strengthened and firm measures taken to ensure that pharma companies were not flooding the retail market with drugs, the prices of which were not regulated.

She said till about five years ago, almost 50 per cent of the drugs sold in the State’s retail market were regulated under DPCO. However, according to last year’s figures, only 24 per cent of the drugs sold in the market belonged to the price-controlled drugs. From Dece mber 1, no new drug would be allowed in the State without the Drugs Controller’s approv al. Pharma companies se lling new generic drugs would have to sell it at prices which were lower than the lowest-priced drug in the same category.