Prices of 886 drugs cut
New Delhi: Chemicals minister Ram Vilas Paswan has released a list of 886 medicines including top selling anti-diabetic pills, antibiotics, cough syrups, pain killers and anti-hypertensives, on which drug makers have reduced trade margins, bringing the prices down up to 74 per cent.

Prices of anti-diabetic drugs like metformin, glucosamine, progestirone, anti-infectives like amoxycillin, cephalexin and ciprofloxacin and pain killers like diclofenac, ibuprofen, paracetamol, and promethazine will be cut in the range of 0.2-74.5 pc Paswan informed the press.

Gujarat's Cadila Healthcare has slashed trade margins on the maximum number of formulation packs of 391 and the range of price cut varies from 2 pc to 74 pc.

The price of its gentamycin injection branded as Germenta 20 ml, for example, will ease from Rs32.10 to Rs8.18 - a reduction of 74.53 pc. In some cases like albendazole tablets branded as Zybend, used to treat worm infestation, the price reduction is noticeable to the extend of Rs428 or 17 pc for 20 strips of ten 400 mg tablets.

Ranbaxy's new generation antibiotic cefuroxime axetil brand Zitacef 500 mg's price would fall by 25 pc for four tablets from Rs241 to Rs181. Lupin's anti-hypertensive brand Hypernil's price will come down by 21.3 pc from Rs1,128 to Rs887 for 25 tablets. Its anti-allergy drug Lupicet's price will reduce from Rs1,880 to Rs1,253 for a pack of 600 tablets — a fall of 33 pc.

These 886 drugs represent about Rs1,500 crore, nearly 5-7 pc of the Rs27,000 crore domestic pharma industries.
Back to News Review index page  

Railways earnings rise over 15 pc in H1
New Delhi: The Indian Railways have reported a more than 15 pc rise in earnings for the period April to October, 2006 at Rs32,536.90 crore as compared to Rs28,213.64 crore during the same period last year.

Net earnings jumped 16.12 pc to Rs21,874.79 crore during the said period as against Rs18,837.72 crore during the same period last year.

The total passenger revenue earnings during the period were Rs9,332.68 crore compared to Rs8,411.30 crore during last year's earnings for the same period, an increase of 10.95 pc an official release said.

The revenue earnings from other sources amounted to Rs890.22 crore during this period compared to Rs636.45 crore during the same period last year, an increase of 39.87 pc a statement said.
Back to News Review index page