Some weeks ago, when Sheila, 41, an IT professional, was down
with cholera, her family physician advised her to take Doxy-1,
which costs Rs48.58 for a strip of 8 tablets. Sheila was not aware that Doxy-1 is the brand name of the antibiotic Doxycycline, and that
cheaper brands of the same medicine are available, costing half the
price.
Only when her daughter Anita, 20, a pharmacy student, noticed the Doxy-1 strip at home, was she informed that cheaper alternatives, but of
the same quality, are available. “I shelled out more than double the amount than
necessary,” rued Sheila.
Doxycycline belongs to a category of
drugs the prices of which are controlled by the government, precisely
the
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the
department of pharmaceuticals. Still, the variation in price of various
brands of the same drug is immense.
Price control drugs are
essential medicines, such as antibiotics and painkillers, and drugs used
for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and asthma. Such medicines
contain bulk drugs, or raw material, whose prices are controlled by the
NPPA; manufacturers cannot hike prices on their own.
However, 90% of
drugs are outside price control in India. In 1979, the prices of 347
bulk drugs and formulations containing them were controlled. That
control was reduced to 142 in 1987, and 74 in 1995.
Concerns have been
raised about the fact that in a poor country like India (
according to
World Bank estimates, over 456 million people in a population of a
billion live below the global poverty line of $1.25 per day) there is
such weak drug price control.
These cost
differentials between brands have got nothing to do with the quality of
the medicines, but occur due to marketing and promotional expenses.
The big differences in prices of drugs poses a problem for the middle and lower class families as they cant afford such costly medicines. Its high time NPPA took some action regarding this, and make it easier for the country people.
How they compare on price:
| Medicine |
Brand |
Quantity |
Price |
| Ciprofloxacin |
Cifran,RAnbaxy |
500 mg 10 tabs |
98.50 |
|
Ciplox, Cipla |
500 mg 10 tabs |
84.20 |
|
Zoxan, FDC |
500 mg 10 tabs |
49.75 |
| Norfloxacin |
Norflox, Cipla |
400 mg 10 tabs |
48.49 |
|
Norbid, Alembic |
400 mg 10 tabs |
10.67 |
| Doxycycline |
Doxy-1, USV |
100 mg 8 tabs |
48.58 |
|
Mincycline |
100 mg 10 tabs |
9.17 |
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