IndiaBreaking
Supreme Court questions 16% cancer drug mark-ups
The Hindu··1h ago
The Supreme Court on Tuesday called cancer drug mark-ups carnage. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked why the 16 percent DPCO, 2013 retailer margin should not apply uniformly. Justice Mehta cited a drug sold at Rs 27,000 after a Rs 3,000 retailer price. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said private hospitals gain. Further hearing is on October 12.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Patients buying cancer drugs at private hospital pharmacies can face mark-ups many times the retailer purchase price.
- Ayushman Bharat and other public schemes may pass inflated medicine bills on to taxpayers.
- A uniform 16 percent retailer margin, if ordered, would change how essential drugs are priced on the shelf.
What's Happening
- Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard petitions by Kishan Chand Jain and Sanjay Kulshrestha on drug affordability.
- The Bench cited a cancer drug supplied near Rs 3,000 and sold near Rs 27,000.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said private hospitals, not pharma firms, gain from steep mark-ups and sought time until October 12.
How drug price controls work
- The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 already provides a 16 percent retailer margin the court asked about extending.
- The Bench also flagged hospitals that force patients to buy only from in-house pharmacies.
- Earlier, the court had called similar retailer-to-MRP gaps dacoity while hearing related pricing petitions.
top-storiesall-newseditors-pickstrending-now
