The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has approved a hike in the price of coronary stents, with the bare metal stents now priced at ₹8,261 (exclusive of GST) as against the existing ₹7,660. Drug eluting/biodegradable stents cost ₹30,080 (exclusive of GST) as against ₹27,890. The new prices have been fixed after taking 4.2% wholesale price index into account, according to the notification. Last year, the Central government slashed rates of coronary stents by up to 85%. Sources in the medical device industry said, “The increase in prices indicates that the NPPA is mindful of the operational pressures in the medical device industry.”

Source: The Hindu April 01, 2019 17:48 UTC