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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 23

INTRODUCTION of product patent since January this year has not lead to any drastic increase in drug prices, the Minister for Chemicals, Fertilisers and Steel, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan said here today.

According to available data, the prices of about 94 per cent of medicines remained unchanged, he said.

"The Government had taken adequate precautionary measures in the Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005 and there had been virtually no impact on the drug prices with the product patents coming into force from January this year," Mr Paswan said.

Briefing newspersons after the meeting of the consultative committee attached to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers here today, Mr Paswan said an independent agency was assigned the task of monitoring the impact of introduction of the product patent regime and whether it has resulted in raising prices of medicines.

"It has been found that out of the about 31,000 formulations surveyed, prices of 29,047 remained unchanged, prices in case of 833 formulations went up by less than five per cent and in case of 233 drugs prices have actually came down," he said.

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