The All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) is planning to request the government to remove the ban on use of Ringer's Lactate, a solution used to wash the eyes.
They say that its replacement, Balanced Salt Solution, is three times more expensive.
The society had placed a similar demand before the government regarding the use of Avastin, the brand name for bevacizumab, a drug injected into the eye to slow down loss of vision in people suffering from age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and other similar complications.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon, the newly elected president of the society and chairman of Coimbatore-based The Eye Foundation, Dr D Ramamurthy, said they had approached the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to remove the ban on Avastin.
"This drug is being used across the world to treat conditions affecting the eye like diabetic retinopathy, retinal venous occlusions and ARMD, and there are excellent peer reviews too," he said.
"However, since the same manufacturer released the same product under a different name and priced it 10 times higher, he himself began publicising that Avastin was not to be used in the eye," he said.
"The DCGI understood us and agreed to lift Avastin of the banned list of eye medicines. The notification is expected anytime soon," he said.
They plan to do the same regarding Ringer's Lactate. "Ringer's lactate is a normal saline solution to clean the eyes before we start any procedure. However, lobbyists began stating that Ringer's Lactate should not be used to clean eyes and started marketing the Balanced Salt Solution which is three times more expensive," he said. "So, we are going to approach them regarding this solution too," he added.
The All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) with 19,000 members also plans to approach the government to get the import duty on equipment bought from abroad reduced. "In 2001, the import duty for imported intraocular and sight saving machinery was just 5% but now it has gone up to 19%. Though Indian-made equipment is good, the quality is yet to match ones manufactured abroad," said Ramamoorthy.
"Other issues we hope will improve are better coverage of health insurance especially for eye treatment, and a special category for eye hospitals when it comes to accreditation so process becomes simpler and promotion of medical tourism for ophthalmology also," he said.
They say that its replacement, Balanced Salt Solution, is three times more expensive.
The society had placed a similar demand before the government regarding the use of Avastin, the brand name for bevacizumab, a drug injected into the eye to slow down loss of vision in people suffering from age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and other similar complications.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday afternoon, the newly elected president of the society and chairman of Coimbatore-based The Eye Foundation, Dr D Ramamurthy, said they had approached the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to remove the ban on Avastin.
"This drug is being used across the world to treat conditions affecting the eye like diabetic retinopathy, retinal venous occlusions and ARMD, and there are excellent peer reviews too," he said.
"However, since the same manufacturer released the same product under a different name and priced it 10 times higher, he himself began publicising that Avastin was not to be used in the eye," he said.
"The DCGI understood us and agreed to lift Avastin of the banned list of eye medicines. The notification is expected anytime soon," he said.
They plan to do the same regarding Ringer's Lactate. "Ringer's lactate is a normal saline solution to clean the eyes before we start any procedure. However, lobbyists began stating that Ringer's Lactate should not be used to clean eyes and started marketing the Balanced Salt Solution which is three times more expensive," he said. "So, we are going to approach them regarding this solution too," he added.
The All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) with 19,000 members also plans to approach the government to get the import duty on equipment bought from abroad reduced. "In 2001, the import duty for imported intraocular and sight saving machinery was just 5% but now it has gone up to 19%. Though Indian-made equipment is good, the quality is yet to match ones manufactured abroad," said Ramamoorthy.
"Other issues we hope will improve are better coverage of health insurance especially for eye treatment, and a special category for eye hospitals when it comes to accreditation so process becomes simpler and promotion of medical tourism for ophthalmology also," he said.