NPPA fixes prices of 43 more formulation packs as per new DPCO

New Delhi, 25 Sept 2013: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), continuing its exercise of revising the prices of essential medicines under the new Drug Price Control Order, 2013, has fixed the prices of 43 more formulation packs. The formulations are based on the bulk drugs of allopurinol, dexchlorpheniramine maleate, promethazine, phenobarbitone, piperazine, dapsone, ethambutol, isoniazid, acyclovir, didanosine, stavudine, diltiazem, nifedipine beclomethasone dipropionate, hydrocortisone sodium succinate, ipratropium bromide, fluconazole, sevoflurane, bupivacaine hydrochloride, lignocaine hydrochloride, adrenaline, morphine sulphate, heparin, sodium, calamine lotion, glutaraldehyde, sulphacetamide sodium, pilocarpine, ringer lactate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium gluconate, diclofenac and cefixime trihydrate+ofloxacin.

Schedule H1 Notified on 30 Aug, 2013

New Delhi, 30 Aug 2013: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi on 30 Aug, 2013 vide GSR 588 (E) has notified Schedule H1 after consultation with DTAB. These Rules will come in force after six months of publication in official Gazette. In Rule 65, in condition (3), (9), (11) (11A) wherever Schedule H is their “Schedule H and Schedule H1” shall be substituted.

HC relief for J&J, can restart production at Mulund factory

Mumbai, 19 Sept 2013: In a relief for the baby products maker Johnson and Johnson (J&J), the Bombay High Court today allowed the company to restart the manufacturing of baby powder at its Mulund unit, which had been stopped upon the order of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration. FDA had ordered shut down of the plant for not treating a batch of talcum powder for ethylene oxide residue in 2007.

National Antibiotics Policy

New Delhi, 27 Aug 2013 (PIB): The Government has already framed a comprehensive policy, namely, the National Policy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance, to address the problem of multi-drug resistance due to widespread and indiscriminate use of antimicrobial / antibiotic drugs in the country. The policy was developed by a Task Force constituted under the chairmanship of Director General of Health Services to address the problem. The policy is available on the web-site of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The salient features of the policy are as follows:

Drug makers hike margins on essential medicines

New Delhi, 20 Sept 2013: Succumbing to pressure from stockists and retailers, several drug manufacturers have increased wholesalers’ as well as retailers’ margins on essential medicines. Recently, prices of essential medicines were slashed under the new drug pricing control order (DPCO). Companies such as Cipla, Torrent Pharma, Eris Lifesciences and Akumentis, which manufacture most essential medicines, have decided to ease margins for retailers and distributors by either raising the percentage slab or providing discounts. For instance, in a letter, dated September 19, Mumbai-based Cipla told its stockists,“…effective 20th September 2013, we shall increase the trade margins to 10% to all our stockists and to 20% to all our retailers on all NLEM (national list of essential medicines) products as per DPCO 2013”.