NEW DELHI: In a move meant to provide relief to several arthritis patients in India needing knee replacement , the government has extended the price cap imposed on orthopaedic knee implants by another year till August, 2019.

In August 2017, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had slashed prices of knee implants by 59% to 69% for a year using a special provision in drug pricing law that enables it to intervene in “extraordinary circumstances” in public interest.

Prices were fixed in the range of Rs 54,000 to Rs 1.14 lakh, depending on the type of implant. While the price regulator’s new order has not revised the prices further, it has extended the price cap till August 15, 2019 through a fresh gazette.

Estimates show there are around three crore arthritis patients needing knee replacement.

The government’s move to price cap the implants last year were based on an analysis undertaken by NPPA that showed manufacturers, distributors and hospitals were earning upto 450% trade margins on widely used devices. This in turn had led to exorbitant prices of critical life saving medical devices that push up patients’ out of pocket expenditure. In fact, because of the high cost of such devices, often such treatments are unaffordable for many patients.

According to government estimates, the price cap on knee implants alone has the potential to save Rs 1,500 crore annually for patients.

