NPPA examines regulating orthopaedic knee implant prices
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) posts analysis of trade margin on orthopaedic knee implants on its website, seeks stakeholder comments
New Delhi: After curbing prices on stents, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is examining regulating the prices of orthopaedic knee implants.
The drug price regulator is considering restricting the margin on knee implants for hospitals and distributors.
The NPPA, in an analysis posted on its website on Friday, said that it has found the average trade margin on orthopaedic knee implants to be as high as 313%. The NPAA has invited comments from stakeholders on the issue.
According to the NPPA, the average margin of importer on knee implants was found to be 76%, while that of the distributor and the hospital was 135%.
The analysis by the NPPA further revealed the average total trade margin on knee implants was 313%. Prices of orthopaedic knee implants ranged between Rs23,408 and Rs65,781 with the minimum and maximum price to distributor being between Rs23,513 and Rs167,162.
Significantly, the minimum and maximum retail price of the products was reported at Rs59,091 and Rs4,13,059, respectively.
NPPA said it has made the analysis public for transparency and “stakeholders may like to communicate their comments/view to NPPA within a week".
Earlier this year, the NPPA had capped the prices of drug eluting stents and bioresorbable vascular scaffolds at Rs29,600 and bare metal stents at Rs7,260 with a mandate that hospitals and distributors together have to share a total margin of 8% from the ceiling price of cardiac stents—a steep drop from the margins on the devices.
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