Centre to cap trade margin on anti‑cancer drugs at 30% MRP
New Delhi, October 12: The Central Government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it has decided to regulate the trade margin on anti-cancer drugs. The trade margin on these drugs will be limited to 30 percent of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), which will save patients approximately Rs 2,500 crore annually.
The Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta informed the bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta that this decision was considered in the 151st meeting of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on October 8.
The government informed the court that a comprehensive legal and policy framework exists to regulate drug prices in the country. The government has taken several steps to curb excessive trade margins in the public interest without compromising the availability of medicines.
Earlier, on September 29th, the Supreme Court, expressing concern over the overpricing of life-saving medicines, termed the 10-fold profit margin on cancer drugs as “genocide.” The court asked why the margin on medicines should not be fixed at 16%.
The court also stated that pharmaceutical companies have no concern for patients. The maximum retail price (MRP) of a cancer drug is ₹22,437, while its price to retailers is only ₹3,520. This is pure genocide. Corporate hospitals are operating like an industry.
The court asked why there is such a discrepancy in the drug pricing system. The court questioned how such essential medicines could be kept out of price control. The court observed that the price to retailer of a cancer drug with an MRP of ₹27,000 is approximately ₹3,000, which is an excessive difference.
