In a major step to keep the price of essential medicines under control, the Union government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that 75 new medicines have been added to the essential drugs list after reviewing the pharmaceutical policy, 2002.

Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee gave this information to a bench, comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha, which was hearing an appeal filed by the government challenging a Karnataka high court order of November last year, virtually staying the operation of the policy.

The high court had asked the central Government not to go ahead with the new drug policy unless it ensured that the life saving drugs did not go out of the drug price control order.

This order of the high court was passed on a petition filed by a retired Lt Colonel K S Gopinath and Dr B V Bhaskar, who had alleged that under the new pharmaceutical policy the life saving drugs would go out of the DPCO, making the drug manufacturers hike the prices at their will, causing hardship to the poor patients.

Appearing for Gopinath, senior advocate C A Sundaram supported the high court order of November 12, 2002 and said even insulin, which was a basic life saving drug for diabetic patients, had been put out of the DPCO.

The court asked the Union government to supply to Gopinath a copy of the new essential drugs list incorporating the 75 medicines and posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.