C
Shivakumar
Chennai:
The
prices of 348 drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is
expected to be slashed by 25 to 30 per cent, according to Pharmacy Council of
India president Dr B Suresh.
Dr
Suresh said that once the minutes of the meeting reaches the Supreme Court
during its next hearing on December 12, the prices of these drugs are expected
to come down substantially.
Interestingly,
pharmacists present during the sidelines of an event to announce the schedule
of 64th Indian Pharmaceuticals Congress to be held here, defended
the price rise stating that prices had gone up due to new patent law in 2005.
S V
Veeramani, chairman and managing director of Fourrts said that following the
patents act the patented molecules can’t be produced by the Indian
manufacturers making the drug costly.
Dr
Suresh highlighted a survey which stated how $550 billion medicines get wasted
as they are over-prescribed. He said the need of the hour is rational use of
medicines.
He
also said the government is also coming out with a policy on over the counter
(OTC) drugs which are sold without prescription.
State
director of drugs control G Selvaraj, who was also present on the occasion said
that the state has now nearly doubled the strength of drug inspectors to curb
spurious drugs. Now there is one inspector for very 250 shops, he said.
He also
said the state government has appointed 23 additional lab analysts at the drug
testing laboratory. Now the strength of lab analysts is more than 40, he said.
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