- The Union Government has constituted a high power committee headed by a Niti Aayog member (Health), to monitor pricing of medicines and healthcare products.
- The committee will be the recommending body to National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). It means the committee will overtake the central role of the NPPA in setting drug prices.
- Till date, NPPA had the responsibility of implementing Drug Price Control Orders (DPCO) like setting prices, enforcement, use of powers in public interest, price approvals etc.
- From now, the NITI Aayog committee will decide which drugs should be under price control instead of NPPA.
- The ministry of chemicals and fertilizers issued an order on January 21 for the formation of a standing committee on affordable medicines and health products (SCAMHP) led by member (health), NITI Aayog.
- Other member: chief economic adviser in the ministry of finance; secretary of the department of health research; NLEM vice chairman; joint secretary of the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP); director general of health services and a subject expert on biomedical devices/pharmaceuticals.
