The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has extended ceiling prices of knee implants till September 14, 2021, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said on Thursday.
NPPA has issued a notification in this regard under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) 2013, the ministry said in a statement.
The drug pricing regulator on August 16, 2017, had for the first time fixed the ceiling prices of orthopaedic knee implants for one year. This period has been subsequently extended by one year at a time, it added.
The last extension ended on August 15 this year and, “the ceiling prices for knee implants for a knee replacement system was due for review by August 15, 2020”, the statement said.
In its meeting on August 6, NPPA after observing the sales data collected from 14 major companies decided that the ceiling prices for knee implants as applicable on August 15 may be further extended up to one month till September 15.
In the meeting held by the national regulator on September 14, it was noted that fixing ceiling prices for orthopaedic knee implants in the year 2017 had resulted in price reduction up to 69 per cent, the statement said.
It was also noted that the market share of domestic manufacturers has risen by 11 per cent for two years, which is in line with the government’s motto of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, it added.
Keeping these in view, the NPPA decided to extend the ceiling prices for another one year, the ministry said.