April 1 Surge: Prices of Vital Medicines Set to Spike

In an update from New Delhi, the forthcoming month of April brings a subtle uptick in the prices of indispensable medications, encompassing pain-relievers, antibiotics, and anti-infectives. The Department of Pharmaceuticals has released its annual roster of adjusted ceiling prices for 923 designated drug formulations and revised retail rates for 65 formulations.

According to a notification by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), there’s a minute annual escalation of 0.0055 percent in the prices of drugs listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), correlating with the yearly variation in the wholesale price index.

Referencing the data on WPI provided by the office of the Economic Advisor, Department of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, NPPA notes a nominal (+) 0.00551 percent WPI variation during the calendar year 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022. With this adjustment, manufacturers are permitted to adjust the maximum retail price (MRP) of scheduled formulations based on WPI fluctuations, sans the necessity of prior governmental approval, as mentioned in the notification.

The revised rate list encompasses crucial medications like pain-relievers, antivirals, antibiotics, antimalarials, and treatments for type 2 diabetes. Notably, the ceiling price for the pain-reliever Diclofenac is now set at Rs 2.05 per tablet, while Ibuprofen tablets will be available at Rs 0.71 and Rs 1.20 per tablet for their 200 mg and 400 mg dosages, respectively.

This adjustment of ceiling prices is part of the customary process carried out by the NPPA.