NPPA slashes price of drug-eluting stents further

In a hearty move which will bring much respite to patients, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has further slashed prices of Drug Eluting Stents (DES) in comparison to last year.

According to the new price revision, DES will now cost Rs 27, 890. Along with an additional five per cent charge of Goods and Services Tax, they are slated to cost approximately Rs 29, 284. Last year, the cost of DES was fixed at Rs 29, 600 and came up to Rs 31, 080 along with a GST surcharge. This year, the patients will pay Rs 1, 796 less for DES stents. The cost of bare metal stents (BMS) though has marginally increased from Rs 7, 260 to Rs 7, 660.

Along with a GST surcharge, BMS will cost patients Rs 8,043.

The stent prices were regulated by NPPA on February 14 last year. A week ago, it held a stakeholder consultation meeting with multi-national corporations (MNCs) and domestic manufacturers and distributors as well as the civil society to hear all parties before going ahead with the price revision.

There are five lakh angioplasties in India annually, requiring close to six lakh stents and the cases are only rising. The circular states, "Cardiac stents being an essential drug under Schedule I of Drug Price Control Order, 2013 and part of National List of Essential Medicines, 2015 having paramount importance on public health needs to continue to be kept under price regulation in larger public interest till the country is under acute and emergent threat of cardiovascular diseases and to prevent the cardiac stents market falling back to its old archaic state characterized by exorbitant margins leading to exploitative pricing, unethical profiteering and an extraordinary failed market system causing unwarranted and unreasonable economic burden on out of pocket expenses of hapless patients and their families."

While the stent prices have been regulated, there has been a rising concern over the paraphernalia that comes along with stents, prices of which are sky high. NPPA has now decided to also regulate the prices of cardiac guide wires, balloon catheters and guiding catheters. On analysing data from manufacturers and importers, NPPA realized that guiding balloon catheters were being sold to distributors and stockists at 234% margin and the Maximum Retail Price was fixed after retaining a margin of up to 405%. Similarly, MRP for guidewires, guiding catheters and drug-eluting balloons are between 158% to 295%. NPPA has invited comments from stakeholders on analysis of trade margins for these by March 15.