MP urges PM to resist US pressure for price control on medical devices

Patiala, April 28

Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi in his letter to Prime Minister Narender Modi has urged him to resist pressure from the US to impose price controls on all remaining medical devices notified as medicines under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act and Rules; and let the Competition Commission of India to carry out an investigation into the anti-competitive practices of the medical device industry.

Decrying a decision by the US trade representative to review the eligibility of India’s enjoyment of preferential tariffs on exports to the US under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), the MP termed this a pressure tactic of the US dairy industry and US medical device industry. Such a move should tantamount to one overall review of India’s compliance with the GSP market access criterion, he said.

While appreciating the decision of the Modi government to bring price control on cardiovascular stents and knee implants, the MP demanded similar control over many other life-saving and essential medical devices, which are still outside the price control such as syringes, IV cannulas. Hospitals were charging high margins to the tune of Rs 1,700 per cent from patients, he said. — TNS