NPPA warns manufacturers about unavaialbility of stents

New Delhi: Ensuring price capping of the coronary stents along with their uninterrupted supply, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has warned manufacturing companies of stringent action in case of unavailability of stents. The pricing regulator has also asked the state drug controllers to carry inspections at manufacturing units and hospitals and take necessary action.

The NPPA has also asked the doctors, hospitals and patients to lodge complaints at grievance redressal system "pharma Jan smadhan" on the NPPA's website besides complaining on 9958217773. The direction comes days after the Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd and Medtronic India Pvt. Ltd filed their applications with the NPPA to withdraw certain high-end coronary stents from the Indian market which they claimed have become commercially unviable after government slashed the prices in February this year by up to 85%.

In February, the NPPA had capped the price of bare metal stents at Rs7,260 and all drug-eluting stents at Rs29,600. While, in April, the regulator said price of stents can be increased by around 2% after taking into account the wholesale price index.

However, recently Abbott sought permission to withdraw its Alpine drug-eluting stent and Absorb dissolving stent, while Medtronic had sought to withdraw its Onyx Zotarolimus eluting stents. Even as the NPPA rejected both the applications, in the recent order it had asked the manufacturers to maintain the supply of stents including that of Resolute Onyz zotarolimus, eluding coronary stent system by India Medtronic pvt. ltd., Absorb GTI-Bioserorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) by Abbott healthcare, Xience Alpine medical cardiac stent by Abbott, Synergy monorail Everolimus eluting platinum chromium with biodegradable polymer, Promus premier Everolimus eluting stent.

The NPPA has asked the hospitals, patients and doctors to immediately inform them at their numbers, stent manufacturer by Boston scientific India.