Hike in medicine prices becomes a concern for all

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The hike in the prices of essential medicines, including life-saving drugs, has burnt a hole in the pocket of the common man. In recent times, the prices of medicines used to treat high blood pressure, heart diseases and infections have seen a 10-20 per cent hike.

In India, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India fixes the trade margins of medicines. Generally, it caps the wholesale margin at 8 per cent and the retail trade margin at 16 per cent. But in practice, retail chemists keep almost 30 per cent margin on some medicines. But now the Central Government is mooting to put a cap on the trade margin of some essential medicines in order to bring down their prices. In this regard, a meeting will be held tomorrow between the Government of India, drug manufacturers and other stakeholders.

There are 355 medicines under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) whose prices are fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India. Recently, there has been a steep hike in the prices of medicines under NLEM. For example, the price of Livosin has been hiked by 17 per cent, Augmentin by 11 per cent, Dexona by 10.3 per cent, saline by 11 per cent, Salcol by 14 per cent, Limcee by 8. 5 per cent, while the price of tetanus toxoide injection has seen a hike of 11 per cent.

The hike in prices of medicines has added an extra burden on the common people who are already reeling under inflation. Nabin Kalita, a resident of Chandmari in Guwahati, said, "Every month when I go to the pharmacy to buy my regular medicines, I find that the prices keep increasing. There are some medicines which I have to take regularly but if prices keep increasing at this rate, I don't know how I will manage."

Echoing a similar concern, Sneha Kalita, a resident of Ulubari in Guwahati said, "In my family, we have a fixed budget for medicines. But because of the hike in the prices of medicines, our budget has gone haywire. We now have to cut down our expenditure on other things in order to meet our budget for medicines."

"I am a pensioner. I have to sustain myself and my family on a limited income. At my age, I need to take some medicines regularly to maintain my health. But the hike in drug prices has become a cause of concern for people like us. The government must do something about it," said Paresh Saikia of Silpukhuri in the capital city.

"When I take my parents to the doctor, the doctor asks us to get various medical tests done. These tests are expensive and after the tests are done, the doctor prescribes medicines which have also become costly now. I find myself in a very helpless situation. The government should take some steps to control the hike in the prices of drugs," said Ranju Sharma, a student.

Health department sources said that medicine prices were not controlled by the Government of India. It is the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India which fixes the prices. But the government is planning to amend the NLEM so that it can have some control over the pricing of certain medicines. There is a huge trade margin in some medicines. The government is also mulling capping the trade margin.

Retail pharmacists when contacted, said that they sell drugs at Maximum Retail Price (MRP). "Medicine prices are increasing. We give about 5 per cent discount to our customers, there is nothing more that we can do."

Sources said that as an offshoot of the hike in drug prices, some dubious pharmaceutical companies have entered the market. By offering their sub-standard medicines at a cheaper rate, these companies have made significant inroads into the rural and semi-urban areas. People in these areas are often ignorant about the effectiveness and quality of the drugs sold by these dubious pharmaceutical companies.

Sources added that the State Health Department conducts raids on pharmacies selling drugs manufactured by dubious companies but this does not seem to be enough. There are many unregistered pharmacies across the State. Some pharmacies do not even have a pharmacist and are running without any license.

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