Relief for EWS patients as generic stents will be available at govt hospitals

Come June, and all central hospitals will have generic stents, which will be used in treating patients with cardiovascular disorders. With the Health Ministry and the Department of Pharmaceuticals yet to take a ‘bold’ step towards lowering the cost of stents, the move of the Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI),  which runs generic drug outlets – Jan Aushadhi stores – to make available medical devices at affordable prices may prove to be a big relief for patients from the economically weaker section category.

Talking to Millennium Post, BPPI chief executive officer MD Sreekumar said: “Stents have always played a crucial role in save the lives of patients, reaching a critical stage. As every citizen of the country has the right to get affordable treatment, it is our responsibility to not let any death happen due to pricey medical devices.”

 “Generic drugs have always been cheaper than branded medicines. Their cost is less than one-fourth than those of branded drugs. Medical devices, including stents, will also be made available at Jan Aushadhi stores at one-fourth lesser prices than branded ones,” Sreekumar added.

He added the plan is to establish 3,000 generic drug stores across the country by 2017 and each store will contain medical devices such as drug eluted and normal stents, syringe and orthopaedic implants. 

“Tenders have been floated in this regard and we are in  the process of finalising a bidder. We are sure that the supply of generic medical devices would be made available at the Jan Aushadhi stores in the next six months,” Sreekumar said.

He added the department has also planned to open 300 more Jan Aushadhi stores across the country by March. At present, there are 121 such stores, which provide life-saving drugs for cancer, diabetes, etc.

Patients pay Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh or more for installing cardiac drug eluting stents, whilen the same stents cost Rs 28,000-Rs 48,000 even in European countries, where there is price control or a fair pricing mechanism.

Even though the medical procedure of inserting stents into cardiac patients is being practised for the past two decades, there is no clarity on how much should these life-saving cardiac gadgets cost.

Millennium Post had reported in March 2015 about the Health Ministry’s plan to bring cost of stents under the rule of maximum retail price (MRP), but nothing much was done in this regard.