Prices of 869 formulations, including antibiotics, cancer, and cardiovascular disease treatment drugs and two types of coronary stents, have gone up by 3.44 per cent, according to the government.

The increase in prices of important formulations is as per annual wholesale Price Index (WPI) at the rate of 3.44 per cent increase, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said in separate notifications today. The drug pricing regulator revised prices of 859 scheduled formulations, which included antibiotics such as combination of Amoxicillin (A) and Clavulanic acid (B) used in treatment of bacterial infections; docetaxel that is used to treat variety of cancers and atorvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug which is also used for prevention cardiovascular diseases.

Similarly, the NPPA also said it has revised the ceiling prices of eight IV fluids, including glucose and sodium chloride. The regulator further said it has revised ceiling prices of two coronary stents. After the 3.44 per cent increase, bare metal stents will now cost Rs 7,923 while drug eluting stents (DES), including metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold / biodegradable stents will cost Rs 28,849, a notification by the NPPA said.

The NPPA is mandated to fix/revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels. The regulator implements and enforces the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order. It is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.