A special Gazette announcing the maximum retail price (MRP) for medical stents used in heart surgeries states that Bare Metal Stent (BMS) should be sold at an MRP (Maximum Retail Price) of Rs. 24,000 and the Drug Eluting Stent (DES) at Rs. 105,000.
The BMS price has fallen by Rs. 51,000 from its original price of Rs. 75,000 while the DES has fallen by Rs. 195,000 from its original price of Rs. 300,000.
The regulation made under the National Medicines Regulatory Act states that under the Medical Devices Pricing Regulations No. 5 of 2017 no manufacturer, importer, distributor, trader, provider, pharmacist, medical practitioner, a medical institute inclusive of private and any person in possession of medical devices shall not sell stents above the maximum retail price stated.
It further states that if any of the above-mentioned bodies sell both brands of stents at a lower price than the stipulated maximum retail price at present, they shall not increase but should carry out sales at the current pricing.
Retailers are expected to print the new prices on the existing stocks of the medical devices within the 45-day grace period provided.
Any person to whom this regulation applies, contravenes the provisions of these regulations, commits an offence and will be tried under Part IV of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015.