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Modi Victory! India wins support from US over Food Stockpiling scheme

Sooner or, later, drug policy will have to be revisited. Only solution is universal health insurance which I am hopeful will be completed by Modi's term ends. If better medicines are to be made available, there has to be some compromise between IPR and Cost. :)

As much as WTO is concerned, all the credit goes to Anand Sharma. We were told that we had got a great deal which was not entirely true. Even I do not see this Modi's WTO stand a very good step and hope this is a one time decision and not a trend. We can not go against world. As much as other economic policies and decisions are concerned, not many BJP supporters are happy with Jaitley's performance. I myself would like to see an Arun Shourie heading Finance. But thats Modi's decision and we will have to wait for some more time to see if Jaitley is capable enough to steer India's economic policy or, not.
But Jhashaab....................These are Generic medicines...............And how can you Justify the Price of AntiCancer Medicine Price Hiked from Rs 8000/ to more than a Lakh.............Were these companies selling these medicines in Huge Loss??...........Which i feel not Nobody does business for Charity.............Let them Earn profits but Genuine.........Let its be 100% but more than 1200% in not Justifiable....................
 
But Jhashaab....................These are Generic medicines...............And how can you Justify the Price of AntiCancer Medicine Price Hiked from Rs 8000/ to more than a Lakh.............Were these companies selling these medicines in Huge Loss??...........Which i feel not Nobody does business for Charity.............Let them Earn profits but Genuine.........Let its be 100% but more than 1200% in not Justifiable....................

Then this must be looked into properly. Any such move will be suicidal. Modi is no CBN and wont risk getting termed as anti-poor.

One thing is for sure : BJP supporters like me ( and most of us) are no sycophants and will never side with a regime which takes anti-poor decisions. We let our guard down last time and it led to "India Shining ".. Not this time..
 
What about Modi? :D

How much did we pay him to back down on the latest "Chinese incursion"?

Would it cost more or less than an African dictator?

Or exactly the same?

Maybe you should try buying someone the world considers more 'respectable'. Till now only tinpots seem to be falling for you cash. The china 'sphere of influence' currently consists of China + Pak (half commited and crisis ridden) + African dictators trying to sell off their mining resources.
 
But Jhashaab....................These are Generic medicines...............And how can you Justify the Price of AntiCancer Medicine Price Hiked from Rs 8000/ to more than a Lakh.............Were these companies selling these medicines in Huge Loss??...........Which i feel not Nobody does business for Charity.............Let them Earn profits but Genuine.........Let its be 100% but more than 1200% in not Justifiable....................

I can assure you they are NOT running on huge losses. Like I pointed out , CIpla manufactures the same Anti Retroviral AIDS drugs for $300 a year where US Pharama cos are charging $15000. And no- they don't spend much money on R&D, they usually buy the research off govt subsidized labs etc. Their marketing budget is always higher than their R&D budget.
 
Stupid decision of modi sarkar carrying forward this useless,ill planned and disastrous food scheme.
Congress has literally fucked this country up first with nrega and than this followed by the lord of all evils in land bill.

At least present government has decided to amend both nrega and land bill.
 
I can assure you they are NOT running on huge losses. Like I pointed out , CIpla manufactures the same Anti Retroviral AIDS drugs for $300 a year where US Pharama cos are charging $15000. And no- they don't spend much money on R&D, they usually buy the research off govt subsidized labs etc. Their marketing budget is always higher than their R&D budget.

Those are generic drugs and require 0 r and d.
The costs of foreign drug companies have to take into account the r&d done too,so its moot to compare the two.
 
Stupid decision of modi sarkar carrying forward this useless,ill planned and disastrous food scheme.
Congress has literally fucked this country up first with nrega and than this followed by the lord of all evils in land bill.

At least present government has decided to amend both nrega and land bill.
Market doesn't agree with you mate.india is country of poor we have to reduce this global image of our country.
 
Medicine price rise – Truth behind the hoax

View attachment 151141

Prices of medicines have not been raised, say Pharmacists. File photo PTI

India’s drug price regulator scrapped a May guideline giving itself sweeping powers to set the price of non-essential medicines. This was a report by Live Mint on September 23. The report went on to say that –

NPPA’s July order to cap prices of new diabetes and heart disease drugs had invited strong protests and legal challenges from the drug industry…. The key drugs which were brought under control include diabetes therapies Gliclazide, Glimepiride, Sitagliptin and Voglibose; high blood pressure medications Amlodipine and Telmisartan and cholestrol treatment Rosuvastatin. The withdrawal of the guideline is on a prospective basis, so the NPPA cannot enforce similar price caps in future. But the already revised order may remain.

On October 1, a DNA report Cancer drug prices go up from Rs 8000 to 1.08 lakh said –


The Union Government(’s) decision to decontrol prices of 108 drugs — used to treat tuberculosis, AIDS, diabetes and heart ailments — has jacked up their prices. In some cases, prices have seen an unbelievable rise. The price of Glivec, an anti-cancer tablet, for example, has risen from Rs 8,500 to Rs 1.08 lakh. Plavix, used to treat blood pressure and heart ailments, will cost Rs 1,615, against the earlier Rs 147. An anti-rabi injection, Kamrab, priced at Rs 2,670, will now cost Rs 7,000. In a circular issued before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the government asked the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), an autonomous body, to withdraw its May 2014 guidelines on drug price control.

It even gives a tabulated list of medicines with earlier prices and what it claims to be the present prices. DNA is not the only one.

View attachment 151142

The ground realities are however different. A Chauthi Duniya account says that not only the prices remain as they were, there also has been no notification of possibilities of future rise of prices. The video reveals a number of media houses who have been carrying this news.

Chauthi Duniya had sent its reporters to Dharamshila Cancer Hospital, which is the second largest cancer treating hospital in Delhi and the pharmacist there said that there has been no such notification yet. In fact the present pricing and the reported pricing difference reveals it all.

Brand Name of drug (Company)

Molecule

Earlier Price as pernewspaper(Rs.)

Current Price as pernewspaper(Rs.)


Price verified by NPPA from Delhi Market

Remarks

Geftinat

(M/s Natco Pharma)

Geftinib 250mg

5,900

11,500

Rs. 5,900 for 30 tabs,

batch no. 700805, mfg dt- 08/2014, exp. dt.– 07/2016,

Non-scheduled medicine

No change in price

Glivec 400mg

(M/s Novartis)

Imatinib

8,500

1,08,000

Rs. 8452.38for 30 tabs as per Form- V dt. 10.06.2014

Scheduled medicines under DPCO, 2013,

No change in price

Cardace 5mg

(M/s Sanofi)

Ramipril

92

128

Rs.92.10 for 10 tabs

batch no. 2914016, mfg. dt. 08/2014,exp. dt 07/2017

Non-scheduled medicine,Actually price has been brought down to Rs. 92.10 /for 10 tab on 10.07.2014 by NPPA from Rs 128 .80 in April 2014

Plavix 75 mg

(M/s Sanofi)

Clopidogrel

147

1,615

Rs. 147.44 for 14 tabs, batch no. 4A580, mfg. dt, 03/2014, exp. dt., 02/2017

Scheduled medicine

No change in price

Moxicip 400

(M/s Cipla)

Moxifloxacin

250

399

Rs.250.00 for 10 tabs, batch no. A41437, mfg dt. 07/2014, exp. dt. 06/2017

Non-scheduled medicine

No change in price

Tarivid 200

(M/s Sanofi)

Ofloxacin 200 mg

34

173

Rs. 27.20 for 5 tabs, batch no. 0214503, mfg. dt., 08/2014, exp. dt., 07/2017

Scheduled medicine

No change in price

Storvas 10 Tab

(M/s Ranbaxy)

Atorvastin 10mg

62

97

Rs.62.06 for 10 tabs, batch no. 2593309, mfg. dt- 02/2014, exp. dt- 01/2016

Scheduled medicine

No change in price

In fact these allegations are factually incorrect because the price notifications of anti-diabetic and cardio-vascular therapies issued by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on July 10, 2014, have not been withdrawn. Till May 2014, NPPA had fixed ceiling prices of 440 scheduled drugs. Since then, ceiling prices have been fixed for additional 49 scheduled drugs. Thus the total number of scheduled drugs with fixed prices have increased from 440 to 489, ever since the Narendra Modi-led Government assumed Office. This is expected to provide financial relief to consumers by more than Rs 70 crore a year.

A September 19 Reuters report, which supports the above mentioned information, states –

India has capped the prices of 36 drugs, including those used to treat infections and diabetes, in its latest move to make essential medicines more affordable, a senior official of the country’s drug pricing authority told Reuters on Friday.

Additionally, as opposed to the DNA report, the prices of 108 non-scheduled drugs for treatment of cardio vascular and diabetes were fixed by NPPA and the action taken by the body with respect to price formulations of anti- diabetic and cardio vascular therapies is expected to provide financial relief to the tune of around Rs350 crore to the consumers annually.

What is equally interesting is that Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken has written a detailed blog on this titled – Note on How Indian Cancer/TB/AIDS and Heart Patients to bear the cost of Modi’s American Jamboree.

View attachment 151146

This is probably indicative of certain behind the curtain manipulations to malign the Narendra Modi-led Government. The way various media houses have gone about carrying this news without cross-checking the facts may not be accidental. Congress and other opposition parties jumping the fray in maligning the Government may also not be so coincidental. With Assembly Elections round the corner, it may not be wrong to believe that this was a concerted effort.

Medicine price rise – Truth behind the hoax | India News Analysis Opinions on Niti Central

Grandma, do the medicines you usually use fior geriatric treatment go up? :lol::lol::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:. The liquid in which you store them DENTURES, have they gone up grandma?! :rofl::rofl:. WHat about Diabetes, Arthhritis etc.? Give it 2 months grandma, pension won't be enough to pay for internet and arthritis medicine :lol::lol::sarcastic:
 
But Jhashaab....................These are Generic medicines...............And how can you Justify the Price of AntiCancer Medicine Price Hiked from Rs 8000/ to more than a Lakh.............Were these companies selling these medicines in Huge Loss??...........Which i feel not Nobody does business for Charity.............Let them Earn profits but Genuine.........Let its be 100% but more than 1200% in not Justifiable....................

LOL. Is is the best misinformation you can spread ?

Cancer drug price is NOT going from Rs 8000 to Rs 1.08lakhs! | Spicy IP

There seems to be a lot of mis-information around the latest supposed “cap” on National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)’s powers. I thought I would try to clear some of this up.

1. Why exactly is the NPPA’s power being reduced?

It’s technically not being reduced. It’s being clarified. As Madhulika pointed out in our post on the topic: The government noted that the NPPA was stepping beyond its given powers by interpreting “extraordinary circumstances … in public interest” in a manner that was inconsistent with the power it was given. And asked that the relevant guideline that had been issued by virtue of that mis-interpretation be withdrawn. The reason that the NPPA had over-reached was because it was empowered to issue this guideline only in “extraordinary” circumstances but the circumstances it had claimed were, in fact, ordinary: inter-brand price variation. (Read the postfor more)

2. Why are prices going up? Why is the government allowing this?

The withdrawal is prospective, not retrospective. So any price caps issued under the withdrawn guideline will continue to remain. There is a DNA article, that I’ve been seeing shared all over on my social networks, that I’d like to correct. The DNA article states that the price of Glivec (generic name: imatinib) is rising from Rs 8500 to Rs 1.08 lakhs. In reality though, there are, and continue to be about ten generic forms of imatinib that are available around Rs 8000 for a month’s supply! (assuming a standard monthly dose of400mg/day). It may or may not be true that Glivec, Novartis’ brand version of imatinib, is still priced at Rs 1.08 lakhs – I haven’t checked this[Edit/Update: See comment 1.1 below], but this was what the drug was priced at when challenged in the Novartis v. Union of India case. As far as I know the prices that have existed before the guidelines continue to remain the same after the withdrawal!

Similarly, the DNA article gives the example of Plavix (generic name: clopidogrel) saying that the prices have gone up from Rs 147 to Rs 1615. You can see for yourself here that there are 64 generics offering this drug at a wide range of prices starting from as low as Rs 78/month (assuming a standard monthly dose of 75mg per day).

3. Is this withdrawal connected to Modi’s US trip?

This seems to be the bait for the misinformation spread. The original price cap came into existence a few days after the Modi government came into power. And this withdrawal happened a few days before Modi’s US trip. It could be very well the case that it was ordered done so as to show US and Big Pharma that India was open to listening to them. However, that does not change the fact that this seems to have been done in a perfectly legitimate manner. And while, as any regular reader of the blog would know, I’m always happy to rant against US pressure on India’s IP policies, it does not bode well to go into a situation where there is pressure on you, knowing that there is a loophole in your current policy that can be pointed at as “proof” that India has a biased stand. So, I don’t know whether the withdrawal was to gain favour, or to patch up policy loopholes. I can only hope it’s the second – as there is going to be a long hard interlocking of policy horns ahead of us.
 
Those are generic drugs and require 0 r and d.
The costs of foreign drug companies have to take into account the r&d done too,so its moot to compare the two.

Like I pointed out, if you look at their balance sheets you'll realize that their expenditure on R&D is very less.
 
Like I pointed out, if you look at their balance sheets you'll realize that their expenditure on R&D is very less.

Its next to 0.
We have made no new medicine ever.And if the trend continues then we are not gonna improve.
Its a fact that most of r&d in india is from the government.

Shameful to say the least:sick:
 
BBC News - India and US reach WTO breakthrough over food

India and the US have resolved their disagreements on food security issues, paving the way for the implementation of a global trade pact.

The deal to simplify trade procedures was done at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting summit in Bali in Indonesia last year.

But India has been blocking implementation of that agreement.

It wanted assurances that its food security programme would not be challenged under the WTO's rules.

India's concern was that complaints based on rules limiting farm subsidies might undermine its spending on food stockpiles intended to ensure that the poor have enough to eat.

Food security programmes are covered by a so-called "peace clause" in which countries agreed to refrain for making such challenges until 2017. The US has now agreed to extend that commitment, in effect indefinitely. This bilateral agreement between the US and India still has to be endorsed by the full WTO membership, and it's likely to be discussed in the Organization's General Council next month.

The breakthrough stems from a bilateral summit in September when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US.

It clears the way for the WTO to press ahead with the Trade Facilitation Agreement that was done in Bali.

Analysts have estimated that that trade deal could add $1tn (£630bn) to the world economy, by reducing the costs of conducting trade by for example simplifying customs procedures.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement: "On the basis of this breakthrough with India, we now look forward to working with all WTO Members and with Director General Roberto Azevedo to reach a consensus that enables full implementation of all elements of the landmark Bali Package, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement."

The statement also said Delhi and Washington have agreed that India's food security programmes would not be challenged under WTO rules "until a permanent solution regarding this issue has been agreed and adopted".

_78953737_indiafoodafp.jpg
India sees food subsidies as a crucial way to help the poor
_75306515_line976.jpg

Analysis: Sanjoy Majumder, South Asia correspondent, BBC News

This breakthrough on the issue of food subsidies will be seen as a major victory for India.

Earlier this year, India refused to back the Trade Facilitation Agreement - a key deal which could add $1tn to the global economy and create more than 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.

So India's decision to hold out was strongly criticised. Some even saw it as the beginning of the end of the WTO.

India feared that signing up to the deal would affect its $12bn food security programme - a key welfare measure aimed at delivering millions of people from poverty.

As part of this, India buys grains such as rice and wheat from farmers at above market prices, sells a part of it to poor households and stockpiles the rest to guard against shortages.

It does this to both protect farmers, but also provide affordable food to many.

_75306515_line976.jpg

Stockpile deadlock
India's Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took to social media to share the latest developments, where she tweeted that India and the US "had successfully resolved their impasse over food securities in #WTO".

The minister added later: "WTO General Council will receive India's proposal and US will support us."

At the centre of the dispute, India had argued that the country itself and other developing economies see food stockpiling as a necessary measure to ensure poor farmers and consumers survive in the business community.

But it involves subsidies for farmers, which can distort international trade and are subject to WTO disciplines.

Western countries, led by the United States, have previously raised concerns that the stockpiles could affect global markets and skew trade.

Who wins?
"This may be considered as a coup of sorts for Prime Minister Modi," says Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist from Mizuho Bank.

He explains, "getting the US and WTO to concede on food stockpiling helps define the prime minister as a firm leader, who is able to make progress while protecting India's vital interests."


Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific Chief Economist at consultancy IHS says the deal provides a good solution that addresses India's concerns.

Mr Biswas adds, "it is also a positive outcome for the WTO as it will pave the way for a very significant WTO trade liberalization agreement to be implemented at a time when some critics were beginning to question the future role of the WTO."

The Trade Facilitation Agreement, which is now likely to go ahead was NOT about reducing trade tariffs or customs duties, which are being discussed separately. Progress on that, and most other areas of the wide ranging WTO talks known as the Doha Round launched in 2001, has been slow.

The TFA was the one major achievement from those extremely protracted negotiations.
--
devil in detail.. let come the fine print...in open
 
LOL. Is is the best misinformation you can spread ?

Cancer drug price is NOT going from Rs 8000 to Rs 1.08lakhs! | Spicy IP

There seems to be a lot of mis-information around the latest supposed “cap” on National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)’s powers. I thought I would try to clear some of this up.

1. Why exactly is the NPPA’s power being reduced?

It’s technically not being reduced. It’s being clarified. As Madhulika pointed out in our post on the topic: The government noted that the NPPA was stepping beyond its given powers by interpreting “extraordinary circumstances … in public interest” in a manner that was inconsistent with the power it was given. And asked that the relevant guideline that had been issued by virtue of that mis-interpretation be withdrawn. The reason that the NPPA had over-reached was because it was empowered to issue this guideline only in “extraordinary” circumstances but the circumstances it had claimed were, in fact, ordinary: inter-brand price variation. (Read the postfor more)

2. Why are prices going up? Why is the government allowing this?

The withdrawal is prospective, not retrospective. So any price caps issued under the withdrawn guideline will continue to remain. There is a DNA article, that I’ve been seeing shared all over on my social networks, that I’d like to correct. The DNA article states that the price of Glivec (generic name: imatinib) is rising from Rs 8500 to Rs 1.08 lakhs. In reality though, there are, and continue to be about ten generic forms of imatinib that are available around Rs 8000 for a month’s supply! (assuming a standard monthly dose of400mg/day). It may or may not be true that Glivec, Novartis’ brand version of imatinib, is still priced at Rs 1.08 lakhs – I haven’t checked this[Edit/Update: See comment 1.1 below], but this was what the drug was priced at when challenged in the Novartis v. Union of India case. As far as I know the prices that have existed before the guidelines continue to remain the same after the withdrawal!

Similarly, the DNA article gives the example of Plavix (generic name: clopidogrel) saying that the prices have gone up from Rs 147 to Rs 1615. You can see for yourself here that there are 64 generics offering this drug at a wide range of prices starting from as low as Rs 78/month (assuming a standard monthly dose of 75mg per day).

3. Is this withdrawal connected to Modi’s US trip?

This seems to be the bait for the misinformation spread. The original price cap came into existence a few days after the Modi government came into power. And this withdrawal happened a few days before Modi’s US trip. It could be very well the case that it was ordered done so as to show US and Big Pharma that India was open to listening to them. However, that does not change the fact that this seems to have been done in a perfectly legitimate manner. And while, as any regular reader of the blog would know, I’m always happy to rant against US pressure on India’s IP policies, it does not bode well to go into a situation where there is pressure on you, knowing that there is a loophole in your current policy that can be pointed at as “proof” that India has a biased stand. So, I don’t know whether the withdrawal was to gain favour, or to patch up policy loopholes. I can only hope it’s the second – as there is going to be a long hard interlocking of policy horns ahead of us.

No one has said that the prices have gone up now, we're saying the regulatory framework is being amended to reduce price controls. In your own article you say PROSPECTIVE drugs- that's the problem. Current drugs are already being manufactured under generic, new drug patents enforcements are what the companies want. And it has serious implications expecially for AIDS. current drugs only let you manage AIDS, future drugs that can eradicate them will come steep.
 
No one has said that the prices have gone up now, we're saying the regulatory framework is being amended to reduce price controls. In your own article you say PROSPECTIVE drugs- that's the problem. Current drugs are already being manufactured under generic, new drug patents enforcements are what the companies want. And it has serious implications expecially for AIDS. current drugs only let you manage AIDS, future drugs that can eradicate them will come steep.

As the article points out, there is NO change in the regulatory framework. Only correction so that the law is not abused.

As long as generic drugs are available cheap, companies are allowed to sell the same for exorbitant prices. There is no law against making profit or making a fool of yourself by buying the same drug for 10 times its price.

Rest is only baseless speculation since it is not based on any fact that shows the govt. is not serious about implementing laws that was designed to protect the poor.
 

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