Stories
UT Khader hints at further price reductions for cancer and other essential drugs
- •Health Minister U.T. Khader announced a historic decision after the NPPA's approval to cap trade margins on cancer drugs at 30 percent.
- •The price capping initiative is expected to save the public over 2,000 crore rupees based on national-level calculations.
- •The state government plans to push for price caps on other expensive medicines, including treatments for heart and kidney ailments.
- •An SIT investigation is actively ongoing regarding fake drugs, with multiple arrests already made.
- •Authorities will take strict action against dumping medical waste from other states into Karnataka after discussing the matter with Kerala officials.
Key Questions Answered
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) granted in-principle approval to cap trade margins on cancer drugs at 30%, requiring a report on manufacturing costs and selling prices by October 14, which is expected to save the public over 2,000 crore rupees nationally.
Health Minister U.T. Khader stated that similar to cancer drugs, profit margins should be limited on other expensive medicines, specifically mentioning that a list of heart and kidney ailment medications will be compiled in the coming days to seek license cancellation permissions.
Responding to an incident where a power outage occurred during an operation, U.T. Khader noted that while doctors provided treatment, an investigation will be conducted to determine why the generator and UPS systems failed to turn on.
