Following a directive from the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) in October, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has updated the draft pricing document concerning the retail price of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ cardiovascular medication, which combines cilnidipine 20 mg and telmisartan 40 mg.
Originally, on March 27, 2023, the regulator set the price at Rs. 12.83 per tablet, excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST). Glenmark Pharmaceuticals later contested this decision in April 2023 with the review authority.
The revised draft proposal, now available on the NPPA’s website since November 29, recommends a price adjustment to Rs. 14.15 per tablet after incorporating Ajanta Pharma’s pricing, as directed by the DoP. Currently, three companies hold a market share of one percent or greater for this medication within the country, and the overall Moving Annual Turnover stands at Rs. 14.65 crore.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals argued in its review request to the DoP that the NPPA erred in their retail price calculation and requested a revision on multiple grounds.
The company highlighted that the price to retailer data previously uploaded by the NPPA mistakenly listed Ajanta Pharma Ltd’s price as Rs. 148.57 instead of the accurate Rs. 200, leading to an undervalued retail price calculation.
Pharmatrac, whose database informs the pricing authority’s decisions, has since amended this data. Their March records now reflect the corrected price, acknowledging an PTR of Rs. 200.
Meanwhile, NPPA argued its methodology adhered to the data accessible for six months prior to the application date, relying on the January 2023 Pharmatrac database which showed the price per tablet in July 2022 as Rs. 9.90.
The NPPA had initially invited feedback on its March draft worksheet from affected companies over a span of 10 working days, yet neither Glenmark Pharmaceuticals nor Ajanta Pharma Ltd provided any input during this invitation.
However, with further submissions from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, NPPA confirmed the PTR, MAT, pack size, and the corrected strength price of Cinod T 20/40 mg tablets from Ajanta Pharma with Pharmatrac. The confirmed updated MRP stands at Rs. 280.
The DoP has acknowledged Pharmatrac’s correction and recommended that NPPA revisit their evaluation, adhering to the guidelines in the Drugs Prices Control Order.
In the latest draft document, NPPA revised Ajanta Pharma’s PTR for the medication combination to Rs. 200, determining the price per unit at Rs. 13.33. This serves as the ceiling price per unit, with comparisons to Alembic Ltd and JB Chemicals factored into the pricing process. JB Chemicals’ Cilacar T 20/40 mg tablet is considered the lowest per unit cost by the authority.