<p>Fertiliser and Chemicals Minister Ananth Kumar today said he will talk to pharmaceutical companies and try to bring down prices of essential drugs by 25-40 per cent.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Taking charge of the ministry, which has Department of Pharmaceuticals under its ambit, Kumar said the government is already working to bring down the prices of essential drugs by 25-40 per cent.<br /><br />"... as far as branded medicines of multinational pharmaceutical companies are concerned, we will talk to all of them and try to bring down prices of essential drugs for poor by 25-40 per cent," Kumar said.<br /><br />The pharmaceutical industry is very important for the health of the country, he added.<br /><br />"Our main mission will be to ensure the availability of all necessary medicines at affordable prices, especially for poors across the country," Kumar said.<br /><br />Last year, the government had notified the new drug pricing policy, bringing 348 formulations listed in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) under the price control regime.<br /><br />Kumar has been elected for the sixth consecutive time as a Lok Sabha member from Bangalore South constituency. He has been Minister of Civil Aviation and Urban Development in the previous NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.</p>
<p>Fertiliser and Chemicals Minister Ananth Kumar today said he will talk to pharmaceutical companies and try to bring down prices of essential drugs by 25-40 per cent.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Taking charge of the ministry, which has Department of Pharmaceuticals under its ambit, Kumar said the government is already working to bring down the prices of essential drugs by 25-40 per cent.<br /><br />"... as far as branded medicines of multinational pharmaceutical companies are concerned, we will talk to all of them and try to bring down prices of essential drugs for poor by 25-40 per cent," Kumar said.<br /><br />The pharmaceutical industry is very important for the health of the country, he added.<br /><br />"Our main mission will be to ensure the availability of all necessary medicines at affordable prices, especially for poors across the country," Kumar said.<br /><br />Last year, the government had notified the new drug pricing policy, bringing 348 formulations listed in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) under the price control regime.<br /><br />Kumar has been elected for the sixth consecutive time as a Lok Sabha member from Bangalore South constituency. He has been Minister of Civil Aviation and Urban Development in the previous NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.</p>