The current bone of contention pertains to an "office memorandum" issued by the NPPA in April this year aimed at freezing prices of certain non-scheduled formulations – primarily drugs which don't figure in the country's national list of essential medicines (NLEM). Wholesale price index (WPI)-based price cuts for medicines already being sold below the ceiling prices, another controversial requirement specified by the NPPA on March 2, had also been challenged by industry. The annual WPI was at -2.71%.
Industry sources told Scrip that on June 27 the Bombay High Court admitted both the writ petitions pertaining to the...







