Fortis row: Regulator who said hospitals inflated drug prices transferred

On March 1, 2018, Bhupendra Singh, the head of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) with a year of his tenure left, was transferred to the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention, sparking protests from pro-access activists. They alleged that an “industry and hospital lobby”–mainly large multinational pharmaceutical companies and corporate hospitals–was behind the transfer.

The NPPA is the government agency responsible for setting prices of drugs and ensuring drug availability. Singh had been at its helm since 2016, and under his watch, the prices of cardiac stents were slashed by upto 80% last year.