PRICE MONITORING AND RESEARCH UNIT (PMRU)

About: 

• Mandate of PMRU: To track violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices under the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO). 
  
  
• Functions: It will offer technical help to the State Drug Controllers and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to – 
  • monitor notified prices of medicines, 
    
    
  • detect violation of the provisions of the DPCO, 
    
    
  • look at price compliance, collect test samples of medicines, and 
    
    
  • collect and compile market-based data of scheduled as well as non-scheduled formulations. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Administration: 
  • The State Health Secretary would be the Chairman of the society and the Drugs Controller would be its member secretary. 
    
    
  • The society would also have an executive committee headed by the Drugs Controller. 
    
    
  • Its members include a State government representative, representatives of private pharmaceutical companies, and those from consumer rights protection fora. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Background: 
  • The move comes more than five years after the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) proposed such a system for the States and the Union Territories as there is no price control review mechanism now. 
    
    
  • States and Union Territories have been classified into three categories for staff recruitment and infrastructure. Kerala falls in the second category, having a population of less than 3%, but more than 1% of the total population of the country.