The Tamil Nadu Chemists & Druggists Association (TCDA) has announced that the MRP (maximum retail price) on drugs manufactured after October 2 will be inclusive of taxes in line with the Union Government's order dated June 26, according to Mr M. Arulkumar, General Secretary, TCDA.

He told that medicines manufactured earlier would continue to quote MRP without including local taxes. This could create confusion among customers, as these stocks are likely to be on the shelves for three to six months, he said.

Recently, 11 top manufacturers cut prices on 886 branded drugs but this will not create a big impact on the buyers. These account for just 1 to 2 per cent of the all-India pharmaceutical sales, which is estimated around Rs 50,000 crore per month. The pharmaceutical sales in Tamil Nadu are estimated around Rs 600 crore per month and Chennai accounts for Rs 200 crore of this.

Mr Arulkumar said that the Government recently reduced the prices of generic drugs (not the branded products), which accounts for just five per cent of pharmaceutical sales. The problem, here, for the consumer is that most doctors prescribe brand names and not the generic name, he said. He also appealed to the Government to bring in a uniform reduction in prices of life-saving drugs.