Hyderabad: Hike in medicine prices to burden common man

Hyderabad: The State government and people are going to be burdened after April 1, as the prices of essential medicines are going to increase over 10 per cent. The experts want the governments to strictly direct the doctors to prescribe generic medicines.

The prices of over 800 drugs, including Paracetamol, Azithromycin and others which are under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) would be increased by 10.7 per cent after April 1. The country's drug pricing authority National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had announced enhancement of prices by 10.7 per cent in the wholesale price index (WPI) for the year 2021. The drug list includes Paracetamol, Ciprofloxacin, Azithromycin, Phenobarbitone and others which are commonly used by the people.

According to pharma experts, the prices of essential medicines would go up between Rs 3 to Rs 18 ranging from the companies. The price of Ciprofloxacin 500mg tablet used as an antibiotic is slated to increase by Rs 4. For example, the Zoxan-500 Tab of FDC company costs Rs 37.05 would now be available for Rs 41.014. Cifran-500 Tab of Sun Pharma which costs Rs 37.07 would now cost Rs 40.77. In case of the BP tablet, the tablet Teldiac-H which used to cost Rs 75 would now be costing Rs 82.55. Similarly, Teleact R tablet which used to cost Rs 102.80 would now be costing Rs 113.79. According to experts, the last time the prices were increased was in 2018.

According to experts, the rise in prices would impact not only the common man but also the State governments, which provide these commonly used medicines to the people for free in Primary Health Centres and other hospitals. As per an estimate, every family in the country has a diabetic, BP, chronic arthritis patient and the monthly expenses on the medicines is anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,500.

If the prices are increased by 10.7 per cent, the poor families would be getting affected more. The country is called Pharma hub with 10,500 industries, including 560 alone in Hyderabad. While India exports bulk drugs to many countries, the enhancement of prices should have been avoided, opined the experts.

The Telangana State Pharmacy Council member, Dr A Sanjay Reddy, said that the only way out would be making it mandatory for the doctors to prescribe generic names of the medicine. He said that the governments are bowing down to the Pharma lobbies leading to burden the common people. The way demonetisation was implemented, the government should strictly implement the rule of prescribing the generic medicines. Similarly, the establishment of generic medicine stores should be encouraged.