Major international pharmaceutical corporations are represented by the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), which has asked the Indian government to exempt patented and orphan medications from price limitations. This proposal is in response to worries that restrictions in place, which require pharmaceuticals to be 50% cheaper when a patent expires, may stifle innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.
In an effort to stop pharmaceutical corporations from making excessive profits, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) announced in May of the previous year that the maximum price of medications that would go off-patent would be lowered by 50%. The NPPA’s ruling mandates that a drug’s price be halved once its patent expires in order to lower the cost of prescription drugs for the general people. Before generic versions of the drug hit the market, pharmaceutical companies could decide to hold their prices.
An anonymous company official stated that pharmaceutical companies had been greatly harmed by this law. They clarified that the requirement for a price reduction upon patent expiration eliminates the room for companies to progressively lower costs, which could have an impact on their capacity to remain financially viable and make investments in the development of new drugs.
OPPI proposed changes to the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO)’s Paragraph 32(i) during recent talks with the DoP. The NPPA is currently authorized by this paragraph to exempt specific medicine classes from price restriction for a period of five years. According to OPPI’s proposal, all patented medications should be immune from taxes until their Indian patents expire. As per present regulations, a medication may be exempt from the price cap if it is created using a distinct indigenous method, possesses a patent under the Indian Patents Act, and is not manufactured anywhere else.
Moreover, OPPI suggested that ceiling pricing for pharmaceuticals covered by patents be established only when the patent has run out and that they be established according to market realities rather than a cap of 50%. They maintained that the creation of novel and inventive treatments is fueled by the financial incentives that patents and intellectual property rights provide to innovators.
The demands made by the OPPI draw attention to the fine line that must be drawn between keeping pharmaceutical corporations’ incentives for innovation while also ensuring that drugs are accessible for the general population. The conclusion of these talks may have a big impact on India’s healthcare system and pharmaceutical sector, especially in terms of access to innovative medicines and the long-term viability of drug research.
SOURCE:
ECONOMIC TIMES
