NEW DELHI: Following a decision by the Centre to fix trade margins of five categories of medical devices — digital thermometers, glucometers, blood pressure measurement devices, oximeters and nebulizers — 91% brands of these devices have reduced prices by up to 88%.
The trade margins, set by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority under the Union Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers, have come into effect from July 20. The government on Saturday said downward revision of MRP has been reported by imported and domestic brands across categories. There are 684 brands of these five categories of medical devices. Of these, 620 have reduced prices.
The Centre also said that the revised MRP effective from July 20 on all the brands and specifications has been shared with the state drug controllers for strict monitoring. Importantly, in order to monitor availability, manufacturers and importers of these medical devices have been directed to submit quarterly stock details.
A look at the price revision suggests that an oximeter with an earlier MRP of Rs 3,999, for instance, will have a new MRP of Rs 1,545. Another oximeter earlier priced `Rs 2,600 will have to be priced at Rs 1,950. A blood pressure monitoring device earlier priced at Rs 3,500 will have a price tag of Rs 1,375, while a glucometer available earlier at Rs 1,590 will now be priced at Rs 675. A digital thermometer will be priced Rs 249 against Rs 270 earlier.
Prices, however, won’t change for devices whose makers had already applied the formula enforced by NPPA. The formula specifies that MRP should be computed by adding three components — the price to the distributor, 70% of price to the distributor and the goods and services tax.
Some health and patient rights activists. however, have said that a 70% cap was still too high and urged the government to cap the trade margin at an earlier point in the supply chain — the landed cost or ex-factory cost — and not from the price to the distributor.