Supreme Court Questions Centre Over Medicine Pricing, Asks Why System Helps Manufacturers

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Why is the entire system working to help pharmaceutical manufacturers, asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday while questioning the Centre over the massive difference between the MRP of medicines and the price to retailers.

The Centre told the apex court that the government policy "is that the entire ecosystem is not to be controlled". "Why is the entire system working to help these people (manufacturers)," a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked during the hearing.

It observed that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) seems to be a "totally defunct" body. The bench was hearing two petitions, which flagged the issue of pricing of medicines in the country. Also Read : Gold Silver Rate Today (Oct 27): Metals Take A Hit, Check Latest Rates In Delhi, Mumbai, And More Referring to the massive difference between the MRP and the price to the retailer, the bench said, "The government is allowing this to happen.

It is under the government's own eyes that it is happening.” "Should it be allowed to run amok?" the bench asked. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that medicine prices in India were among the lowest in the world.

While hearing the matter on October 12, the top court had said the Centre's response on capping the trade margin of anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent of the maximum retail price (MRP) was "hardly anything to be happy about" and questioned why the government cannot cap trade margins of other medicines.

The Centre, which had earlier come under severe criticism from the top court for steep markup of cancer drugs by hospitals, said that the government has taken an important decision to cap the trade margin on anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent of the MRP, which is expected to result in annual savings of approximately Rs 2,500 crore to patients.

Also Read : Rahul Gandhi's November 1 Rally: Delhi Traders Fear Rs 10,000 Crore Loss, Urge Shift To Burari (This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.) The Supreme Court questioned the Centre about the vast difference between the MRP of medicines and their price to retailers, asking why the system appears to benefit manufacturers.

The Centre stated that its policy is not to control the entire pharmaceutical ecosystem. It also claimed that medicine prices in India are among the lowest worldwide. The government has capped the trade margin on anti-cancer drugs at 30% of the MRP.

This measure is projected to save patients approximately Rs 2,500 crore annually. The Supreme Court observed that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) seems to be a 'totally defunct' body during the hearing.