Piramal Healthcare opposes regulation of Vit C tablet prices

Pharma major Piramal Healthcare has urged the government not to regulate prices of the already cheap Vitamin C tablets, a senior company official said.

Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant and is consumed mainly by Asthmatic patients, children and pregnant women, and its deficiency leads to scurvy, a skin disease.

"We have asked the government not to reduce the prices of the Vitamin C tablets which are available in the market at cheap prices. Rather they should increase it, as drug-makers are incurring huge losses from its production," Piramal's director, Health-care Business, Sudarshan Jain, told PTI here today.

Asked about reports that drug-makers have cut down on production of Vitamin C tablets leading to an acute shortage of it in the marketplace, Jain said, "many companies have done that but Piramal continues to manufacture the Limcee tablet despite the company making a loss for the past few years."

Asked the reason for the losses drug-makers were sustaining, Jain said it was due to the curbs on import of raw materials from China. He also said the raw material is being imported at high prices but Vitamin C tablets are sold at very low prices.

Limcee is a Piramal product and is priced at Rs14.90 for 15 tablets.

"We are a responsible company and will continue manufacturing Limcee tablet for the people despite our losses, but we have asked the government to increase its retail prices," he said.

Presently, the annual sales of Vitamin C tablets are Rs100crores.