Drugs made from local ingredients may be removed from price control list, says report

The government may bring a proposal to remove drugs made from local ingredients out of price control list, reported Mint, citing two senior government officials. However, drugs made from imported APIs will remain under the drug price control order, it added.

The move is aimed at reducing the dependence of Indian companies on imports and a committee led by Mansukh Lal Mandaviya, minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers last month, has been formed to look into ways to boost bulk drug manufacturing in India, the officials told Mint on condition of anonymity.

The development, the report said, will be crucial for the supply of APIs, or bulk drugs, that are the raw material from which medicines are manufactured. While currently, China is the source of the bulk of the API’s, the new decision could change the situation.

The Centre is also looking at challenges such as how to verify claims about the use of locally sourced APIs. Moreover, changing the drug price control order is also a challenge, noted the report.