Ortho-implant prices above making & landing costs

Maximum retail prices of various orthopaedic implants are very high in comparison to the manufacturing or import costs, the government informed Parliament on Friday. In a reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority has collected and analysed data regarding prices of orthopaedic implants.

It has "revealed that the maximum retail prices for various orthopaedic implants are very high in comparison to the landing cost in case of imported devices or cost of production in case of manufactured devices", he added. Though orthopaedic implants are included in the 23 medical devices notified as drugs and are under price monitor mechanism, these have not yet been included in the list of essential medicines, Mandaviya said. Cardiac stents, drug eluting stents, condoms and intra uterine devices have been included in schedule-1 of Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO) 2013.