Why in news?
The draft pharma policy was recently released by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DOP).
What are the highlights of draft pharmaceutical policy?
- The new pharmaceutical policy proposes to balance the need for price control over medicines.
- Union government will gain a greater role in deciding prices of medicines and medical devices.
- Pricing authority will regulate only medicines that are specified by the government in the National List of Essential Medicines.
- The price caps being imposed on patented medicines are reduced.
- Policy allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell their medicines under only under generic names and not under differently-priced brands.
- Manufacturing of drugs under WHO standards is made mandatory.
- The policy seeks to bring down the unreasonable trade margins offered by various stockists to hospitals.
What are the issues with the policy?
- The policy fails to lay controls over the chemists, this may facilitates the sale of fake drugs.
- The policy doesn’t have any mechanisms to boost production standards.
- Instead of an appellate authority, it seeks to give bureaucrats more powers on drug controls.
- Direct price control – Government takes role of fixing the drug price.
- This will affects the quality, innovation, and hurts patients as much as it does companies.
- It opens the door to lobbying and rent-seeking with all the attendant dangers for competition and for corruption.
What measures can be taken?
- It will be better if price monitoring focuses on essential drugs, there are about 200.
- Strict price control measures needs to be avoided and market friendly pricing should be followed.
- Domestic production of import drugs should be promoted, with better quality and affordability.
- The government should also consider specific steps against overcharging of prices by the industries.
Source: Business Standard
