Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, spoke yesterday at the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority's (NPPA) Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers and New and Renewable Energy, was the honoured guest.
In his remarks at the event, Dr Mandaviya praised the NPPA for acting more as a facilitator than a regulator. He emphasised their significant contribution to ensuring the availability and affordability of medicines over the last 25 years. The Union Minister also praised Indian industries for consistently producing high-quality goods. He urged them to develop medicines and conduct innovative research with the goal of ensuring people's health and well-being, rather than for commercial gain.
Dr. Mandaviya assured Indian pharmaceutical companies of the government's ongoing support. He emphasised the PLI 1 and PLI 2 schemes for industries, which have aided in the indigenous manufacture of many critical APIs in the country. He also recalled Indian pharmaceutical companies' positive contributions during the Covid crisis and emphasised the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the government and industry in bringing quality healthcare to the masses.
Bhagwanth Khuba praised NPPA for successfully serving the country and the pharmaceutical industry for the past 25 years. He stated that "NPPA ensures the availability of affordable medicines without jeopardising industry interests." He also expressed confidence that, with the launch of the two applications today, the NPPA will be able to continue its work in a smooth and efficient manner in the coming years."
The inaugural session saw the release of the Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System 2.0 (IPDMS 2.0) and the Pharma Sahi Daam 2.0 App. IPDMS 2.0 is a responsive cloud-based integrated application developed by NPPA with technical assistance from the Centre for Advance Computing (C-DAC). It is intended to optimise operational synergies in order to promote the government's emphasis on 'Ease of Doing Business' by providing a single window for submissions of various forms as mandated by the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013. It would also allow NPPA to operate paperlessly and allow stakeholders from across the country to connect with the National Pharma Pricing Regulator.
The Pharma Sahi Daam 2.0 App will include new features such as speech recognition, availability in Hindi and English, a share button, and the ability to bookmark medicines. This version of Pharma Sahi Daam also includes the ability to launch consumer complaints via the consumer complaint handling module. The app will be available for both iOS and Android.
At the inaugural session, a publication titled "An Overview of Drug Pricing @ NPPA 25 Year Odyssey" was also released. The publication not only chronicles NPPA's 25-year journey, but also highlights the evolution of the country's drug regulatory system, with a focus on pricing regulation. Kamlesh Pant, Chairman of the NPPA, had previously delivered the welcome address. The event was attended by S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Dr. Vinod Kotwal, Member Secretary, NPPA.
Pharmaceutical and MedTech device industry stakeholders, Central and State Governments, Price Monitoring and Resource Units, Civil Society, patient advocacy groups, Pharmaceutical Research and Academic Institutions, Think-Tanks, and media representatives from across the country attended the event.
