More than 20 medical devices that are notified as "drugs" must all carry the maximum retail price on packages, the NPPA drug price regulator said. These devices include cardiac valves, surgical dressings, condoms, stents, disposable hypodermic syringes and orthopedic implants.
The Government notified 22 medical devices as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said.
"It has now come to the NPPA's knowledge that several medical devices are available on the market and are also used in healthcare facilities where no MRPs are printed on the package by manufacturers / importers," National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said in a notification
In a tweet, NPPA said: "22 medical devices notified as 'drugs' must print MRP on the packs under DPCO, 2013; State Govts/State Drug Controllers requested to enforce law."
These devices are unplanned formulations and their sales are governed by the provisions of DPCO 2013, states the notification. The prices of non-scheduled formulations are monitored by the government. Manufacturers are not allowed to increase the price of these more than 10 per cent per annum, NPPA said.
Condoms, intrauterine devices containing copper and coronary stents have been included in Annex I of the DPCO, 2013, and are under price control, it added.
