India regulators are mulling whether to invoke emergency procedures and order drugmakers to produce and distribute more human albumin, which has been in short supply for nearly a year.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) earlier requested several companies to make more of the drug, but supplies remain short, prompting consideration of more drastic measures.
An official said the nation's Drug Price Control Order of 2013 gives the NPPA the power to order companies to produce more of the blood serum.
Some in the India drug industry claim manufacturers are reluctant to produce more albumin because the NPPA-set cap on the price of it was too low to afford much of a profit margin. The NPPA counters that its discussions with drug makers indicate that is not true.
One agency official cited constraints on raw materials, a problem the NPPA is attempting to resolve, perhaps by approaching suppliers to put delivery of the material on a priority basis, according to the Times of India.
- here's the Times of India story