Ceiling price for cardiac stents fixed

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NPPA warns of action against firms, individuals violating new price regime

Hyderabad: To ensure the costs of life-saving cardiac stents remain under the price control regime and within the reach of patients, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued a notification fixing a ceiling price for all types of stents used to conduct cardiac surgeries.

The drugs pricing regulatory authority has fixed the ceiling price for Bare Metal Stents, which mostly comprise of stents manufactured by local medical device manufacturers, to Rs 10,509.79.

Similarly, all Drug Eluting Stents (DES) including metallic DES, Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS) and Biodegradable Stents will cost no more than Rs 38,267.18, the NPPA notification said.

All retailers and dealers of stents must display the price list and the supplementary price list, if any, at a conspicuous part of the hospital in a manner so as to be easily accessible to any person wishing to consult the same.

The NPPA made it clear that action will be taken against companies or individuals who avoid implementing the new price regime.

Manufacturers not complying with the ceiling price shall be liable to deposit the overcharged amount along with interests thereon under the provisions of Drugs (Prices and Control) Order, 2013 and Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the notification said.

Recently, union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).

The decision to include stents in NLEM was based on the recommendations by an expert committee that was constituted to review and revise the list based on requirement.

Given the high incidence of coronary artery disease among patients in India, experts advising the Health Ministry felt that regulating the stent prices would go a long way in making complex heart surgery affordable for the poor.

Despite stents (a medical device) being different from drugs, to ensure they are accessible to all at an affordable cost, the Health Ministry notified stent as a ‘drug’ under the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 194. With this measure, the regulatory health authorities made it possible for NPPA to define a price ceiling for the stents.

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