The change in the rules effected by NPPA from last April with regard to recalling and restickering on packs of drugs after price revision notifications have created an avoidable confusion amongst the pharmaceutical trade and patient community. NPPA stated in the notification that recalling and restickering on packs of drug stocks in the market are not mandatory on pharma companies if they are submitting revised price lists to the trade and are able to ensure price compliance at the retail level.
NPPA further said that the manufacturers, if they desire in order to comply with notified prices, may re-label or recall the stocks, as the case may be. Practice of putting the stickers of revised prices is being already followed by many manufacturers which is the preferred option for retailers as intimated to NPPA by the trade associations. What has happened with this change of rules is that the NPPA has shifted the onus of implementing the revised prices to the retail chemists. In a subsequent order on May 5, NPPA also directed the dealers including stockists and retailers not to return any stocks to the pharma companies in case current price list as per revised notified prices has been made available to them by the manufacturers.
The first issue here is non circulation of revised price lists of medicines to the retailers on time by all the pharmaceutical companies. Retailers are complaining that many companies are not making available the revised price lists immediately after the price revision by the NPPA. In that case how the companies can ensure compliance of NPPA orders. Even if the companies are providing the revised price lists on time they cannot ensure compliance of new prices immediately by all the retail chemists in a vast country like India. That is simply not practical. It is naïve to think that consumers will buy drugs with revised prices but new prices not printed on the packs. Earlier the companies used to withdraw the stocks after price revision from the market and replace it with the new stocks of revised prices printed on packs or with stickers of the revised prices on the strip of the medicines. As it is almost impossible for pharmaceutical companies to call back huge stocks of medicines lying with thousands of stockists and retailers across the country and print new price or paste new stickers with immediate effect, NPPA made this new change. Now the April directive of passing on the responsibility of price compliance on the trade is still not the right solution. To avoid this lingering confusion and possible harassment of the trade, NPPA should look at the option of allowing a 3 months time to the trade to liquidate old stocks whenever there is a price revision order.
NPPA further said that the manufacturers, if they desire in order to comply with notified prices, may re-label or recall the stocks, as the case may be. Practice of putting the stickers of revised prices is being already followed by many manufacturers which is the preferred option for retailers as intimated to NPPA by the trade associations. What has happened with this change of rules is that the NPPA has shifted the onus of implementing the revised prices to the retail chemists. In a subsequent order on May 5, NPPA also directed the dealers including stockists and retailers not to return any stocks to the pharma companies in case current price list as per revised notified prices has been made available to them by the manufacturers.
The first issue here is non circulation of revised price lists of medicines to the retailers on time by all the pharmaceutical companies. Retailers are complaining that many companies are not making available the revised price lists immediately after the price revision by the NPPA. In that case how the companies can ensure compliance of NPPA orders. Even if the companies are providing the revised price lists on time they cannot ensure compliance of new prices immediately by all the retail chemists in a vast country like India. That is simply not practical. It is naïve to think that consumers will buy drugs with revised prices but new prices not printed on the packs. Earlier the companies used to withdraw the stocks after price revision from the market and replace it with the new stocks of revised prices printed on packs or with stickers of the revised prices on the strip of the medicines. As it is almost impossible for pharmaceutical companies to call back huge stocks of medicines lying with thousands of stockists and retailers across the country and print new price or paste new stickers with immediate effect, NPPA made this new change. Now the April directive of passing on the responsibility of price compliance on the trade is still not the right solution. To avoid this lingering confusion and possible harassment of the trade, NPPA should look at the option of allowing a 3 months time to the trade to liquidate old stocks whenever there is a price revision order.
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