Mumbai, Sept. 17 -- The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has written to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to cap prices on all medical and surgical consumables in hospitals. The NPPA is an independent regulator that oversees pricing of drugs and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices. The FDA's move follows a survey it conducted across 20-odd hospitals in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Sambhaji Nagar in July this year, which revealed a huge price gap between the actual procurement of medical aids and the MRP rates charged to patients. For instance, the FDA found hospital consumables like an IV infusion priced at Rs.11.05 but being sold at a printed MRP of Rs.325, a price gap of 2,841%. Similarly, a syringe procured at Rs.6.75 carried an MRP of Rs.57.20 and a catheter procured at Rs.29.41 which was being sold at an MRP of Rs.310. "Similar price gaps were found in the charges levied for basic medical or surgical provisions like oxygen masks, transfusion sets, and syringes, which are an inherent part of hospital procedures. It was not just doubling or tripling of the prices; but an exorbitant and unjustifiable hike" said an FDA official requesting anonymity. "Though we received complaints from patients about being overcharged, we were unable to act against them since these hospitals often charged within the MRP." The official added that in the case of scheduled drugs, the prices and margins are fixed at every level-from the stockists, wholesalers and retailers-by the manufacturers as part of the system. "Hence, we have officially written to the NPPA asking them to cap prices of consumable medical or surgical kits and make them reasonable, like scheduled drugs under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013." On Tuesday, FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe posted on X, ".These are not elective purchases. Patients cannot compare prices, seek alternatives, or question a number printed on a box while receiving care and the MRP itself is often fixed upstream by manufacturers and distributors disconnected from the trade price by a wide unexplained margin. The result is a system where the party b earing the cost has the least information to evaluate it." The NPPA's key responsibilities include fixing and revising drug prices as per the provisions of the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO), monitoring compliance and availability of drugs and rendering advice on pharmaceutical policies. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority also provides ceiling price to all drugs notified under Schedule-I of DPCO and so far, has given ceiling price to 928 scheduled formulations and retail prices to around 3,111 new drugs. By invoking powers under Para 19 of DPCO, 2013, it has also regulated prices of 106 anti-diabetic and cardiovascular drugs; coronary stents and knee implants in public interest, their website mentions. Clarifying the FDA's role in this, the official explained: "The FDA can step in only if the quality of the drugs is not maintained or if the medical drugs are found to be sold beyond the MRP, which is not happening in these cases. Hence the surveillance and sharing the findings with the Centre," he said....