Cap on stent prices raises quality concerns

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 22

The capping of the price of coronary stents last week by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has made health experts skeptical about their impact on the lives of patients. While some believe that the move may help poor patients afford the life-saving device which will now be within their budget, most claim that the sudden capping of price has put the lives of critical patients in extreme danger.

According to the NPPA order, the price of a bare metal stent will be capped at Rs 27,260 while the drug eluting stents and biodegradable stents will be priced at Rs 29,600 apiece. These prices are exclusive of taxes.

Dr Charanjit Singh Pruthi, a leading cardiologist in the city, said though the non-absorbable stents may come cheap, they have a risk of restenosis (the stent may stop working any time) and the patient can die within minutes.

“As the absorbable stents are manufactured after much research and testing, they have less chances of restenosis and causing danger to the life of a patient,” said Dr Pruthi.

He further informed that after the announcement on capping, the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing absorbable stents have withdrawn their stocks and have refused to provide them at the cost finalised by the NPPA.

“This has put us in an awkward situation. Even though many of us have a ready stock of absorbable stents in their hospital, they cannot put it as it would invite criminal action against the said hospital,” said Dr Pruthi.

Also, highlighting another major flaw in the government’s decision, Dr Vijay Mahajan, another leading cardiologist, said the companies were earlier told to lift the existing stock and reprint the new prices on the packages. “Though the companies lifted the stock of high-end stents in the name of price revision, they have now refused to return them at prices specified by the NPPA,” said Vijay Mahajan.

He said the lifting of the stock has also created panic among the hospitals as they are left with no option but to put sub-standard stents even in critical cases.

“The government should have first ensured the availability of good quality stents at the prices specified by NPPA and only then should have gone for the capping. Also, it should have left the option open to high- profile customers who wanted to get the best quality stents fitted in their body,” said Dr Mahajan.

Experts also believe that the government’s decision to cap the live-saving device will also promote

black-marketing of the product in the country.

“If drugs can be brought from places like Nepal, Thailand and Bangladesh, why can’t anyone import high-end stents and sell them at a much higher price to customers who can afford it? Instead, the government should have worked to manufacture high-quality stents that could be sold at a much lower price in the country,” said Dr Pruthi.

However, applauding the decision, another cardiologist Dr Raman Chawla said the move will promote the “Make in India’ stents in the country but it should have been done in a phased manner. “How can you expect a pharmaceutical company selling an absorbable stent for Rs 2 lakh to sell it for just Rs 30,000? The foreign companies manufacture such stents after much research and we in India are yet to begin research in this field,” said Dr Chawla.

Meanwhile, research by The Tribune has found that many traders in connivance with leading pharmaceutical companies have held a huge stock of high-end stents and are selling it at much higher price to various hospitals.