In a relief to lakhs of patients, price of life-saving coronary stents capped at 30,000

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has capped the price

of life-saving coronary stents, a spring-like metal device used to prop open blocked arteries in

the heart, at ₹ 30,000.

In effect, the selling price of stents has been slashed by up to 85% by the country’s top body

that fixes prices for drugs that will come as a relief for lakhs of patients who pay inordinately

high amounts for the device.

There are massive margins charged at each step in the distribution and supply of stents and by

the time the patient gets it, the increase from the original cost is often in the range of 1000-

2000%.

The Union health ministry included stents in the National List of Essential Medicines

(NLEM) in 2016 after the Delhi high court sought action on a petition seeking price control

on the device. All medicines under the NLEM have to be notified as schedule-I drugs so that

their prices can be controlled.

Stents are broadly categorised as bare metal stents and drugeluting stents, the fixed rate of

which will be now around ₹ 7,260 and ₹ 29,600 respectively.

According to NLEM data, the cost of bare metal stent ranges between ₹ 25,000 and ₹ 75,000,

while a drug-eluting stent costs between ₹ 40,000 and ₹ 1,98,000. More than 90% of the

stents used are the drug eluting ones.

The number of angioplasties performed in the country went up by 42% in 2015 as compared

to the previous year, according to the National Interventional Council (NIC) data.

During 2015, 3.75 lakh angioplasties were performed and 4.75 lakh stents were used.

Source: Hindustan Times