NEWS SCAN

The Bombay High Court (HC) o upheld the notifications issued by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), fixing the maximum retail price for anti-diabetic and cardiovascular drugs.A division bench of Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice B P Colabawala, while dismissing a challenge raised by the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, said: “Given the ever-increasing number of patients, these drugs, which have to be taken throughout life… we do not feel government was exceeding its power in regulating.” The court also refused to stay its order for six weeks for the petitioners to appeal in the apex court, and vacated the interim relief of no coercive action against pharmaceutical companies for overcharging.

The alliance had said that internal guidelines are, ex-facie, contrary to the law. The government has given a complete go-by to what is called the “essentially criteria”. That criteria is applicable only to schedule formulations and by including non- scheduled products, the government has basically done away with the classification of drugs on the ‘essentially criteria’, it said.

Further, it said that essential drugs are under price control and would be under a controlled regime and their prices would be fixed by market forces. The notifications of July 2014 are arbitrary and violative of the petitioners’ fundamental rights and are unreasonable and against the principle of natural justice, they argued. The plea thus prayed for directions to restrain the government from implementing or enforcing the internal guidelines.

The Union government had strongly opposed the petition and also argued that it was in the larger public interest that the notification was issued. The bench noted: “Exploitative prices make medicines unaffordable. Moreover, member companies who are manufacturers have not filed individually. Some members have accepted the notification. Thus to make medicines available to all, prayer for staying or setting aside of guidelines/notifications, does not survive.”

As carried in DNA on 27.09.16