Price caps on drugs boost access to essential medicines

India’s poor will benefit from improved access to essential medicines in India after the government capped the prices of 530 drugs under the price monitoring mechanism, reports The Pharma Letter. Around 47 formulations for cancer, 20 for AIDS/HIV, 53 for cardiovascular diseases and six for diabetes have had their prices reduced recently. As a result of reduction in the prices of scheduled medicines under price control, the price benefit accrued to the public is estimated to the extent of around USD363 million, India’s Parliament was informed.