Heart of the matter: coronary stents get cheaper by up to 85%

TIL Desk Business/New Delhi/ In a major relief to lakhs of cardiac patients, the government on Tuesday cut prices of life-saving coronary stents by up to 85 per cent by capping them at Rs 7,260 for bare metal ones and Rs 29,600 for drug eluting variety.

The maximum retail price of bare metal stents (BMS) and drug eluting stents (DES) will be Rs 7,623 and Rs 31,080, respectively, inclusive of VAT and other local taxes. The new prices are applicable with immediate effect, Chemical and Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said while announcing the decision.

Earlier, the average maximum retail price (MRP) for BMS was Rs 45,000 and for DES, it was Rs 1.21 lakh. The government has asked the companies to change the MRP of the existing stock.

A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It keeps the arteries open in the treatment of coronary heart diseases.

“We want to stop the menace of over-pricing of coronary stents in various hospitals. After careful consideration and after having inputs from various stakeholders, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has decided to fix the ceiling prices for cardiac stents,” he said.