Hyderabad: The healthcare sector is feeling the pain of the ongoing West Asia conflict, with prices of surgical disposables, pharmaceutical raw materials, and finished medicines rising sharply over the past few months.Hospital suppliers and pharma traders in Hyderabad said prices of essential medical consumables such as IV sets, IV cannulas, syringes, urine bags, suction catheters, Ryle’s tubes, gastric tubes, and synthetic gloves have increased by 15% to 30%. Industry officials attributed the rise mainly to increasing crude oil prices, higher transportation costs and disruptions in global shipping routes caused by the conflict.Most surgical disposable products are manufactured using PVC and other petroleum-based materials, making the sector highly susceptible to volatility in crude oil prices and supplies. Petrochemicals also go into the making of pharma feedstocks and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) which are the key raw materials for making medicines.Suppliers said rising fuel prices have increased manufacturing, transport, packaging and operational costs across the healthcare supply chain.KB Ramachandra, president, Twin Cities Hospitals Suppliers Association, said manufacturers have informed hospital goods suppliers that raw material prices in some categories have increased by nearly 80%. “Factories depend on diesel, gas, and electricity for heating moulds and running manufacturing units. Once crude oil prices rise, the impact is seen across the entire supply chain,” he said.“The price of a syringe box that earlier cost around ₹135 has now increased in the range of ₹150- ₹160. IV cannulas that were sold at ₹6 are now priced around ₹7, while synthetic gloves have increased from ₹8 to ₹9.50 per pair. Nitrile gloves have risen from ₹1.90 to ₹2.30 per piece,” he added. Packaging materials used in the pharmaceutical sector too have become significantly costlier. Suppliers said prices of PVC used for blister packs have increased from ₹130 per kg to nearly ₹190 per kg. Aluminium caps used in medicine bottles have shot up from 45 paise to 75 paise per cap, while PET bottles, foils, and other petroleum-based packaging materials have witnessed hikes of 80%-100%.On April 1, citing the rising costs of raw materials and APIs, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers revised the ceiling prices of more than 760 essential medicines. These include commonly used antibiotics such as azithromycin and amoxicillin, painkillers including paracetamol and ibuprofen, along with diabetes and cardiac medicines.Hyderabad, regarded as India’s `Bulk Drugs Capital,’ is a major hub for manufacturing APIs, intermediates, and excipients. Industry experts said rising raw material costs are now directly impacting medicine production. A member of the Telangana Chemists and Druggists Association (TSCDA) said raw material prices for several medicines have risen sharply since the US-Israel-Iran conflict blew up. “The cost of raw materials for paracetamol has increased nearly four times from around ₹200 per kg to ₹650-₹700 per kg. Inputs for Diclofenac, used for pain relief, have risen from ₹600 per kg to nearly ₹950 per kg. Antacid Omeprazole has seen raw material costs double from around ₹300 to ₹650 per kg, while erythromycin antibiotic raw materials have shot up to nearly ₹15,000 per kg,” he added.Experts said due to the cascading effect, branded medicines too have already seen price hikes of 15%-20% with overall production costs increasing by nearly 30%-40% since March this year.Pharmacy retailers said many companies are still supplying old stock at previous rates, but fresh batches are arriving at higher prices. “At present, retailers are trying not to burden patients immediately, but if crude oil prices continue to rise, medicine prices may increase further in the coming months,” said Hitesh Aggarwal, a pharmacy store owner in Khairatabad.Experts pointed out that if fuel prices rise again, transportation costs, which have already increased significantly due to higher diesel prices, may shoot up further. “Earlier logistics costs increased by around 5%, but now transporters are demanding nearly 10% more. If fuel prices rise further, transportation costs may go up by 15%,” said Ramachandra.Hospital suppliers warned that though currently their margins have not been impacted, if the conflict does not end soon, eventually it will be patients who will have to bear the burden. “Hospitals and suppliers have very limited options. Eventually, part of the increased cost will get passed on to patients, increasing the overall cost of treatment and surgeries,” he added.BITTER PILLWAR IMPACT ON PRICES– Surgical disposables up by 15% to 30% – Packaging materials up by 80% to 100% – Branded medicines costlier by 15% to 20% – Overall pharma production costs up by 30% to 40% – NPPA revised prices of 760+ essential medicines from April 1
