Knee implant price to stay till Sep 2024

In 2017, the regulator slashed the price of orthopaedic implants by up to 69%. Since then, manufacturers have been lobbying the government to raise the prices.

The fresh move follows the government’s observations that the prices of orthopaedic knee implants were unjustified, unreasonable and carried irrationally high trade margins, effectively leading to financial exploitation of patients.

The latest directive means all manufacturers of knee Implants have to cut prices.

“The ceiling prices for Orthopaedic Knee Implants will be reviewed after a period of one year. It has been decided that the same may be monitored as per the provisions of Drug Pricing Control Order, 2013,” said a notification issued by the department of pharmaceuticals.

“This is being done to ensure accessibility of necessary medical devices to the patients at affordable price and it was felt necessary that ceiling price system continue to be regulated in wider public interest,” said a government official.

Queries sent to the department of pharmaceuticals remained unanswered.

India is likely to be one of the leading countries of such immobilized citizens in terms of numbers. According to the government estimates, orthopaedic patients requiring arthroplasty, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, number 15 to 20 million, of whom only about 100,000 well-off patients are in a position to pay for the procedure.

With 365 million affected people, the knee is the most frequently damaged joint, followed by hip and hand, as per the World Health Organization.

According to the government, domestic manufacturers’ market share has risen by more than 11 % since the implant price regulation, making India self-reliant.

Meanwhile, in another order the regulator fixed the retail prices of 51 new drugs which are used for managing diabetes, eye disorders, infection and pain.

The regulator made it mandatory for drug makers to issue a price list of the drugs to the NPPA through the Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System (IPDMS) and submit a copy to the state drug controller and dealers.

Updated: 18 Sep 2023, 11:14 PM IST