Heart stents to be less expensive from Sept

Cardiac patients in need of stenting are likely to get some relief as two major producers and suppliers of the stents yesterday agreed to reduce the base prices of their products from September 1.

The cost of at least three types of cardiac stents, which are frequently used in Bangladesh, may get price drops between Tk 10,000 and Tk 20,000.

Officials of Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific -- two world-leading producers and suppliers of cardiac stents -- agreed to the price reduction at a meeting with the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA).

"We will now take steps to revise the pricing formula and reduce the taxes. So, the price will drop further," Maj Gen Mohammad Yousuf, director general of the DGDA, told The Daily Star after the meeting.

Of the stents produced by Abbott Laboratories, the base price of Xience Prime, one of the most used in Bangladesh, will be reduced to $425 from $561.

The maximum retail price would also be reduced from Tk 84,800 to Tk 64,754, before tax reduction.

The price of another stent of this company, Xpedition, will drop in phases to $600 from the current $830. The MRP would be Tk 1.81 lakh before tax reduction is factored in.

The base price of Promus Primer, a stent produced by Boston Scientific, will go down to $470 from $570. The MRP of this stent will likely be reduced to Tk 74,411 from Tk 86,500.

The DGDA asked Boston Scientific officials to reduce the base price for Synergy stents by $300 from the current price of $1,200, and their Promus Elite stents by $300 from $900.

"The company officials said they would inform us about this later," said Maj Gen Yousuf.

"We have informed them that our people cannot afford the high prices … So, we proposed maintaining the same price they charge in India," he said.

They argued that the market size in Bangladesh is smaller than that of India for which they cannot reduce the price. "But we said otherwise we will have to explore other sources. They agreed at last," he said.

In India, the price of stents starts from Rs 9,842 and goes up to Rs 35,835.