Regulation at the cost of human lives?

A life-saving medicine for pediatric heart patients, namely, Furoped, or Furosemide, more commonly known as Lasix (a diuretic that is prescribed in babies with heart ailments to drain the body of fluids, to reduce the load on heart), has recently gone out of market (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/price-cap-squeezes-out-key-drug-for-children-with-heart-ailment-5229669/). This is after The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) set the ceiling selling price for the drug at Rs. 10 in the month of November. The manufacturer of the drug, Samarth Pharmaceuticals, has stated that the price was reduced by 92% since the drug was brought under price control and they were being forced to sell at less than the cost price. They have stated that they were still trying to maintain supplies, but were unable to do so in large quantities.

The NPPA has, in turn, stated that the matter had been brought to their notice and they were looking into it. They also said that they had called for certain information from the manufacturer which has now been received and the issue will be taken up in the next meeting of the authority to be held on June 28.

Hapless parents are meanwhile, and as usual, struggling with the situation to their best possible individual means and capacities.

Situations like the above have become so common in the Indian scenario that they fail to attract much attention, other than passing references and a few concerned voices that may be raised. The acceptance of administrative apathy and incompetence, and the devaluation of a human life has become so complete and systemically entrenched that coming across such situations and incidents fails to elicit even a minor reaction from the majority of the population. They seem to be routine, run-of-the-mill matters which do not deserve any special attention.

However, such a situation is neither routine nor run-of-the-mill for the parents who are daily watching their children suffer and at the same time struggling to arrange for the medicine they know can save or at least prolong the precious lives of their kids. The reason for this struggle, however, may not be understandable to these parents. It is not clear, for instance, what data was collected and analyzed by the Pricing Authority before bringing the drug into price control. What was the basis of taking the decision? Was the shortage of the drug apprehended? What were the measures that were taken to avoid or tackle such a situation, if it occurred? When was the information that the Authority says it has now received from the drug manufacturer, called for? If this information was essential for arriving at the decision to control the prices of the drug, then how was the decision taken in the absence of such information? If the Authority now realizes the gravity of the situation, why is it important to wait for the next regular meeting scheduled for June 28, to discuss the situation? Are there no contingency plans on the table? Is the situation not serious enough to warrant the implementation of such contingency measures, if at all they are in place? What is the wait for?

Questions galore, but alas, no answers! May be the situation is dire for only a few members of the society as of now. May be it is not happening to us to be overly concerned with it. But till when will be able to sustain such kind of an apathetic attitude? Till when will we able to survive in such a callous world? In fact till when will a world which harbors such an apathetic society be itself able to survive? Not very long, I think.