Why is it in the news ?
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The union government capped trade margins of 42 cancer drugs at 30%, seeking to curb profiteering on these vital medicines.
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The move is expected to reduce prices of cancer drugs by 85% and will cover 72 formulations and 355 brands.
More in the news
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The inclusion of new drugs are in addition to 57 anti- cancer drugs already under price control.
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Manufacturers have been asked to recalculate prices and inform National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) within next seven days.
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The step has been taken to control the out-of-pocket expenses on medicines.
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The NPPA currently fixes price of drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines under schedule I of DPCO.
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So far, around 1,000 drugs have been price-capped through this mode.
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The move is likely to face resistance from the pharma industry, a pharma lobby expert.
About NPPA
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NPPA is an organization of the Government of India which was establishe to fix/revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995.
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It enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country.
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The organization is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.
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It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.
Source
The Hindu.