Drug manufacturing companies such as Cipla, Ranbaxy, Johnson & Johnson and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) may have to pay over Rs 2,038 crore to the government for overcharging consumers on price-controlled medicines.
The NPPA controls prices of 74 bulk drugs used as raw material to make medicines. Prices of all medicines containing one or more of these bulk drugs are also directly controlled by the pricing authority. Unlike decontrolled drugs, the prices for which can be hiked by up to 10% annually, manufacturers do not have the liberty to increase prices of drugs under price control on their own. Several essential medicines such as antibiotics, pain-killers and ones for treating ailments such as cancer and asthma are part of the list of medicines where the pricing authority believes manufacturers have indulged in over-charging.
