What is in news : Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said it has fixed the ceiling prices for 12 anti-diabetic generic medicines, including glimepiride tablets, glucose injection and intermediate acting insulin solution.

About : Antidiabetic agents refer to all the different types of medicine involved in the treatment of diabetes. All these agents aim to reduce blood sugar levels to an acceptable range (called achieving normoglycemia) and relieve symptoms of diabetes such as thirst, excessive urination, and ketoacidosis (a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when the body cannot use glucose as a fuel source). Antidiabetic agents also prevent the development of, or slow the progression of, long-term complications of the disease, such as nephropathy (kidney disease), neuropathy (nerve damage), and retinopathy (damage to the retina of the eye).

About National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

• Organization of the Government of India
• Established, inter alia, to fix/ revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995.
• Entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers.
• Monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.

Functions of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

• Implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.
• Deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority;
• Monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps;
• Collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc, for bulk drugs and formulations;
• Undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals;
• Recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government;
• Render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy;
• Render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing.