Karnataka Urges Inclusion of Heart and Kidney Drugs in Price Controls

Beyond oncology, Karnataka has called on the Union government to extend price‑regulation to expensive life‑saving medicines used in cardiology and nephrology. Minister Khadar highlighted that patients battling heart failure or chronic kidney disease often face prohibitive costs for essential therapies.

The state’s appeal to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPP) seeks a uniform ceiling on commercial margins for all high‑priced, non‑scheduled drugs, not just cancer treatments. Karnataka argues that the current exemption leaves a large segment of the market vulnerable to profiteering.

In its petition, the state cited the Supreme Court’s concern over the lack of alignment between procurement prices and retail MRPs, urging a revision of the DPCO framework to cover a broader spectrum of critical medicines.

Karnataka also proposed the formation of an inter‑governmental task force comprising health ministry officials, drug regulators, insurers, hospitals and oncology experts to monitor pricing trends, enforce compliance, and recommend periodic updates to the price list.