The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has capped the prices of 51 essential formulations, including those used for the treatment of cancer, pain, heart conditions and skin problems. The prices have been slashed in the range of 6 to 53 per cent.

In separate notifications, the drug price regulator today said that it has notified the ceiling prices of 13 formulations, while revising the same for 15 formulations. Moreover, retail prices of 23 essential formulations have also been notified.

Drugs, whose ceiling prices have been capped, include colon or rectal cancer treatment drug oxaliplatin (injection 100mg), Japanese encephalitis vaccine and measles rubbela vaccine.

On the other hand, ceiling prices of drugs, including anaesthetic sevoflurane, Phytomenadione (Vitamin K1) and tuberculosis prevention medicine BCG vaccine have been revised.

NPPA fixes the ceiling price of essential medicines of Schedule I under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) 2013. In respect of medicines that are not under price control, manufacturers are allowed to increase the maximum retail price by 10 per cent annually.

The calculation for essential drugs is based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1 per cent.

Set up in 1997, NPPA has been entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharma products, enforcement of provisions of DPCO and monitoring of prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs.