Antibiotics and anti-diabetes drugs to get 10-35% cheaper

New Delhi: So me popular and commonly used antibiotics and anti-diabetes medicines are set to be cheaper by 10-35%. Drug price regulator, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), has slashed retail prices of 25 essential medicines, most of which are used in treatment of diabetes.The revised prices will be effective immediately, NPPA chairman Bhupendra Singh told TOI. For consumers, this may come as an additional relief because these 25 medicines were already under government price control with a cap on their MRP.The latest price cut by the regulator will further lower the prices."Essential medicines need to be kept at affordable limits hence with every new National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM) there is need to do moderation in the prices fixed four years back. Manufacturers do take benefit of increase in the intervening period equivalent to whole sale price index," Singh said.Though the government caps prices of all essential medicines listed under NLEM, companies are allowed to revise prices annually as per the change in wholesale price index (WPI). The regulator say this may mean substantial hike for medicines already sold at a higher price resulting in disparity between prices of same medicines sold in the market under different brands.The latest move is aimed at keeping prices of all medicines in a particular therapeutic area at par. This will enable consumers to make an informed choice, Singh said.