Top court seeks 16% MRP cap on medicines

The Supreme Court has questioned the government over excessive pricing of cancer and other medications, demanding a standardized 16% upper limit on the maximum retail price (MRP) for all pharmaceutical products. Expressing outrage at the disregard shown by pharmaceutical companies for the welfare of ordinary citizens, a bench of justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti remarked, "We don't know why they (pharma companies) are asked to fix prices like this. This is carnage. Plain and simple."

Highlighting a stark price discrepancy, the court noted that a cancer drug retailing for ₹3,520 is being sold to patients for ₹22,427. Justice Mehta emphasized the extreme disparity, pointing out that corporate hospitals often compel patients to purchase from their in-house pharmacies, ultimately burdening taxpayers when treatments are covered by government schemes like Ayushman Bharat or other public health programs.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, promised to find a balanced solution to address the issue. The court then deferred further deliberation to October 12, emphasizing the ethical concerns surrounding medical practitioners' conduct. The apex court had previously criticized the significant gap between the price to retailer (PTR) and MRP for certain cancer medicines, questioning why manufacturers are allowed to set MRP several times higher than their actual sale price.

The court stated that drug manufacturers and retailers are "committing daylight robbery" by selling essential medicines at inflated prices to patients, akin to individuals selling their jewelry to afford these treatments. Such excessive pricing structures result in systemic fraud on the public exchequer when medical expenses are reimbursed under state health schemes, as hospitals purchase medicines at these exorbitant rates and then claim reimbursement from the government – ultimately using taxpayer money.