A quick market survey conducted by myrepublica.com has revealed that costs of some of the common medicines, such as omeprazole and antibiotics like amoxicillin and ampicloxacillin, have gone up by around 50 percent lately. Omeprazole is used by gastric patients, while amoxicillin is a common antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria. Similarly, ampicloxacillin is an antibiotic used in healing septic wounds.
Mimox and Perimox (trade names for amoxicillin), manufactured by SR Drugs and Deurali Janta Private Limited, respectively, now costs Rs 9 for a 500mg capsule. The government ceiling on this medicine is fixed at Rs 7.50. Likewise, the prices of Omocid, Norma and Zes (trade names for omeprazole drugs), manufactured by SR Drugs, Deurali Janta and Asian Pharmaceuticals, have gone up to Rs 6 for a 20mg tablet, compared with the government cap of Rs 5.
Surprisingly, some of the medicines manufactured by Nepali companies are now even more expensive than those imported from India. Periclox, an ampicloxacillin product of Deurali Janta, for instance, costs Rs 9 for a 500mg capsule, whereas Megapen, manufactured by Aristo Pharmaceuticals of India, costs Rs 4.40. The government cap on this product is fixed at Rs 7.5.
Drug manufacturers have cited the rising cost of raw materials and the burgeoning overhead costs inflicted by soaring inflation as the reasons behind the price hike. These may be valid reasons to raise prices but the manufacturers have done this without taking official permission from the government and by flouting the DDA´s regulation on price caps that was introduced about one-and-a-half years ago.
In October 2007, the Department of Drugs Administration (DDA), Nepal´s drugs regulatory body, had fixed a ceiling on prices of 22 different medicines manufactured by Nepali companies, after finding huge price differences between similar products of different brands. The government at that time had identified companies´ practice of giving bonuses to distributors as the main reason behind price variations and had even directed companies to stop giving cash incentives on some selected medicines. By fixing a cap, the government was able to reduce the prices of some medicines by up to 66 percent.
Once again the price of medicines in the market is being thrown to the winds of whim, but the government is staying mum on the issue. All it is saying this time is that it cannot regulate the prices of drugs manufactured in Nepal “without controlling the prices of medicines imported from India.”
But a high-ranking official at the DDA, requesting anonymity, did offer myrepublica.com more details regarding the pricing problem. “Lately, Indian companies have also increased the prices of medicines, citing rising cost of raw materials. Based on this, Nepali companies are also telling us it is not appropriate to fix a ceiling on Nepali drugs unless the prices of Indian medicines are regulated,” said the official. “I think their argument is valid as well.”
rupak@myrepublica.com
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