Anti-diabetic drugs cheaper, heart medicine to cost more
Times of India | 31 March 2025
Kolkata: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), in an order dated March 27, changed the prices of 80 medicines or drug formulations. While prices of some medicines, including those used for diabetes, were reduced drastically, some became more expensive. The new prices will be effective from Tuesday.
The decline in prices was highest in medicines like Empagliflozin and its combination medicines, used in the treatment of diabetes. The price of a combination drug of Empagliflozin 12.5 mg and Metformin Hydrochloride 100 mg was reduced from Rs 437 per strip to Rs 100 per strip. Another combination drug of Empagliflozin 12.5 mg and Metformin Hydrochloride 500 mg was reduced from Rs 416 to Rs 97. Pharmaceutical industry insiders, however, anticipated a sharp cut in the price of Empagliflozin after it went off patent a few weeks ago. Several Indian manufacturers started working on the generic versions of the medicine.
"We were expecting prices of anti-diabetic medicine Empagliflozin to crash as the medicine went off patent earlier this month. The industry was expecting a price drop by as much as 90%. The same was reflected in the recent NPPA order," said Prithwi Bose, general secretary of Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association (BCDA).
Similarly, the price of anti-diabetic medicines like Dapagliflozin also reduced significantly after the medicine went off patent in Feb. A combination drug of Sitagliptin 100 mg, Dapagliflozin 10 mg, and Metformin Hydrochloride 500 mg was reduced from Rs 210 per strip to Rs 133 per strip.
However, the price of a combination drug of Atorvastatin and Clopidogrel, used in the treatment of cardiac ailments, increased from Rs 266.5 per strip to Rs 293 while the price of a combination medicine of Telmisartan and Bisoprolol, used to treat hypertension, increased from Rs 125 per strip to Rs 137.5.
"The prices announced by the NPPA are exclusive of GST. As the market typically holds an inventory of 60-75 days, medicines with changed prices will remain unavailable till new stock reaches the market," said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD).
Meanwhile, the BCDA circulated posters against high discounts among 45,000 members across the state. "The unusual discount war is damaging the industry. There is a specific margin for the retailers at 16% (for controlled medicines) and 20% (for decontrolled medicines). Wholesalers get a margin of 8% and 10% respectively for similar medicines. There is no scope to offer discounts higher than that," said Somnath Ghosh of Metro Pharma.
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