Medical devices
FDA commissioner Srinivas K, in letters dated Sept 18 to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), department of pharmaceuticals and national pharmaceutical pricing authority (NPPA), proposed a National List of Essential Medical Devices (NLEMD) on the lines of the National List of Essential Medicines. The proposal covers 24 categories, including devices used in cardiovascular care, respiratory treatment, neurology, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, oncology, radiotherapy and kidney care.
FDA said only a limited number of medical devices currently have specific price-control provisions and sought a wider framework to make essential devices more affordable and accessible to patients. Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FDA) has urged the Centre to regulate prices of essential medical devices to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket expenditure, proposing a national framework to identify essential devices and cap their prices. The move comes amid a pricing controversy in Maharashtra, where the state FDA has flagged wide gaps between procurement costs and MRPs of commonly used hospital consumables and sought Centre’s intervention.