Relief to cardiac patients; no shortage of stents in the country, says NPPA

New Delhi: Last week, drug price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), asked doctors and hospitals to report stent shortage as part of its measures to ensure availability of the medical device in the wake of price cap.

"Hospitals/doctors finding any shortage of stents of any company and/or any brand should inform NPPA which will ensure supplies," NPPA had said in a tweet.

This step was taken after reports of stent shortage in the market emerged.

Today, the NPPA confirmed that there is no shortage of stents in the country and manufacturers have assured it of smooth supplies.

The NPPA met stent makers and importers today to discuss issues like pricing and availability of the medical device.

"There is no shortage of stents at present. We have not received any complaints regarding this either from the state drug controllers or from the hospitals," NPPA Chairman Bhupendra Singh told PTI.

The firms who attended the meeting have assured the regulator of smooth supply of stents, he added.

Last week, the regulator had invited 16 firms, including Abbott Healthcare, Boston Scientific India and Sahajanand Medical Technologies, for the meeting.

This is the second meeting the government has held with stent manufacturers and importers.

The government has already made it mandatory for manufacturers to maintain production and supply of coronary stents by invoking an emergency clause under drug price control law, citing reports of shortage in market.

"After due deliberations on the current situation and alternatives available with the government to resume normal supply of the coronary stents, it has been decided to invoke the powers of Section 3 (i) of DPCO, 2013," the Department of Pharmaceuticals had said in a letter to stent makers last month.

In a major relief to lakhs of cardiac patients, the government last month had slashed the prices of the coronary stents by up to 85 percent by capping them at Rs 7,260 for bare metal ones and Rs 29,600 for the drug eluting variety.

(With PTI inputs)