After including VAT, these stents are expected to cost Rs 31,080 and Rs 7,623, respectively.The NPPA clarified on Monday that hospitals and distributors together have to share a total margin of 8% from the ceiling price of cardiac stents—a steep drop from the margins on the devices before they came under price control.Distributors used to charge as much as a 196% margin when supplying DES, used in a majority of stenting procedures, to hospitals, according to NPPA. The margin also adequately covers any hospital handling charges, added the regulator. "Considering the high-end value market of coronary stents, this 8% trade margin would cover margins across the trade channels working from the level of manufacturer/importer to the end user i.e. consumers/patient," stated NPPA. "Legally as well as ethically, hospitals cannot and should not charge margins," NPPA chairman Bhupendra Singh earlier told ET.While global stent makers are yet to convey their views on NPPA's latest message, some Indian stent companies have lauded the cap on margins.

Source: Economic Times February 20, 2017 16:40 UTC