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NMRA caps prices of 350 drugs; penalties for overpricing
View(s):The National Medicines Regulatory Authority has published the maximum retail prices (MRP) of 350 medications, calling on the public to report to the regulator any individual or institution that sells these products at higher prices.
The move comes after the Court of Appeal on Wednesday lifted an interim injunction that had prevented the NMRA or its pricing committee from imposing price controls on any medicine “in respect of which price control has not already been issued”.
The plaintiffs in the case are the Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI), its president, senior vice president and vice president. They have challenged the NMRA’s pricing regulation mechanism. The respondents include the NMRA, its pricing committee and the Health Ministry.
The SLCPI argues that the NMRA, via its pricing committee and mechanism, is implementing price control that restricts its business. They also raised concerns over the non-publication of a detailed regulatory methodology. They also held that strict price control could lead to “a diminution in the quality of drugs”—that is, if prices are forced down, some higher-quality or more costly medicines may not be imported.
The NMRA has since (in July this year) published a detailed pricing mechanism that contains a formula for determining the MRP of individual medicinal products. Recently approved by parliament, it uses the formula, along with a maximum ceiling price (MCP) for each dosage and strength, to regulate and enforce prices, with violations subject to penalties.
Although price regulation has been conducted since 2017, the Court of Appeal’s interim injunction had caused price regulation by the NMRA’s pricing committee to be halted from December 2023 onwards.
The MRP list published this week has 350 entries, including the generic name, dosage form, strength, brand name, manufacturer, country of origin, and the price per unit in Sri Lankan rupees. In keeping with the new pricing, a 500mg tablet of paracetamol will now cost Rs. 3.20; 300mg aspirin, Rs. 3.68 (Rs. 4.50 for the 75mg delayed-release tablet) in bulk; and 10mg atorvastatin, Rs. 4.50 (in bulk).
The most expensive listed medicines are complex biological injections or vaccines, such as Basiliximab (LKR 275,000.00/vial) or high-dose immunoglobulin infusions (up to LKR 491,521.00/200 mL).
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