National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has not received any specific report that life saving drugs are being sold at high prices due to shortage/insufficient supply of such drugs in the country.
In a statement laid in reply to a Starred Question in the Lok Sabha today, the Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers Shri Srikant Jena said that NPPA monitors shortages and availability of drugs on the basis of monthly reports received from State Drugs Control Administration and also complaints, if any, received from individuals.
On receipt of such reports, NPPA immediately takes up the matter with the concerned manufacturer and advice them to rush the stock in the affected area. He further said that any manufacturer of scheduled formulation intending to discontinue any scheduled formulation from the market is required to issue a public notice and intimate the NPPA in Form –IV of Drug (Price Control) Order (DPCO), 2013.
NPPA is empowered to direct the manufacturer to continue with required level of production or import for a period up to one year, in the public interest.