In a bid to lower the prices of 348 essential drugs, the Indian government has cleared the Pharma Policy. The Cabinet approved the measure, the aim of which is to put in place a regulatory framework for pricing of drugs to ensure their availability at reasonable prices.
The Supreme Court of India had set a deadline of 27 November 2012 for the government to finalise the policy, even as the apex court asked it not to alter the existing mechanism of cost-based drug pricing.
India is the third largest producer of medicines by volume in the world and exports to more than 200 countries. In 2010-11, the production turnover of the Indian pharmaceutical sector stood at £11.89bn (Rs 1,050bn; US$18.97bn).
The announcement of the policy has come as a relief to the domestic drug industry, since it has been pending for the last 18 years. That the policy has taken so long to finalise is due to the differences between ministries of health and chemicals and fertilisers. Other stakeholders, industry and non-government organisations had also expressed their concerns about the suggested pricing model.
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