The FDI in the medical devices sector surged from $161 million in 2015 to $439 million in 2016, but touched just $173 million from January through September in 2017. But the corresponding FDI during the first three quarters of 2016 was $433 million, industry analysts said citing government data. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the government's price-control agency, set a uniform Rs 30,000 cap on all drug-eluting coronary stents, including stents that were earlier priced at over Rs 150,000. "We are not opposing price control - but we're asking for nuanced price control where the prices have some association with the underlying device technology," an industry representative, who declined to be named, said. "Differentiated price control would help patients' interests in the long term," a senior cardiologist had said last year after the imposition of price caps on coronary stents.

Source: The Telegraph January 16, 2018 21:45 UTC