“Do not threaten us; let’s talk instead.”
On 8 June, government think-tank Niti Aayog first shared its proposed new price control policy for medical devices with US-headquartered medical device manufacturers. This new approach seeks to change the price control policy from one that currently caps prices on medical devices such as knee implants and stents without any room for flexibility. The new policy aims to cap margins on 18 other devices mentioned in the Drug Price Control Order 2013, instead. It came with the request mentioned above.
The request did not come out of the blue—it was in response to the US’ simmering unhappiness over the existing price control policy.