The pharmaceutical industry has sought an exemption from ceiling price for all low-priced formulations up to Rs 5 per unit. In a meeting held on Tuesday, the sector lobby groups also asked the government for exemption from implementation of trade margin rationalisation (TMR) on formulations which are priced below Rs 10 per unit, while it agreed to the implementation of TMR in a phased manner, said people aware of the matter.

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents the country’s biggest drug makers, along with other lobby groups, suggested that low-priced formulations be excluded from the ceiling price regulation, they said. The alliance was joined by the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, which represents prominent multinational pharma companies, and Karnataka Drugs & Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, among others.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixes the ceiling prices of essential medicines of Schedule I under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order.

The government revived talks on TMR on drugs and medical devices with industry stakeholders at a meeting on May 16. In this regard, the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the NPPA held a meeting and invited members of pharma associations and medical device manufacturers to the meeting and sought their suggestions by Friday.

Pharma lobby groups, including the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, NATHEALTH and AdvaMed, and industry lobbies CII, FICCI, PHDCCI and ASSOCHAM, attended the meeting.

The contentious issue of TMR was also discussed during the meeting. “The industry agreed to implement TMR but in a phased manner,” said a person, who did not wish to be identified.