Essential medicines get expensive, price of 800 medicines to rise from this date

Now the medicines of pain relievers may give you pain to your pocket! Prices of around 800 essential medicines including painkillers, antibiotics, anti-infective are set to go up from April.

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The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the country's drug pricing authority announced a 10.7% change in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the calendar year 2021 over the same period in 2020.

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"Based on the WPI data provided by the office of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the annual change in WPI works out as 10.76607% during the calendar year 2021 over the corresponding period in 2020," the NPPA notice said.

Over the last two years, prices of some key APIs have increased between 15% to 130% with the price of paracetamol jumping 130%. The price of medicines used to cure infections, fever, skin diseases, heart diseases, anaemia, and high blood pressure will increase.