New Delhi, October 13
The Supreme Court has urged the Union government to extend its efforts to address excessive pricing beyond anti-cancer medicines, questioning why recent measures to regulate trade margins were restricted to selected drugs used in cancer treatment.
During a hearing on Monday, the court sought to know what steps the Centre intended to take to address inflated prices of other medicines and medical devices. The observations came after the government introduced a measure capping trade margins at 30 per cent of the maximum retail price (MRP) for certain non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs.
The court’s concern centred on whether the approach adopted for a limited category of medicines could be expanded to cover other drugs and medical devices where patients face substantial expenses. It sought a broader response from the government on the issue of affordability.
Medicine prices remain a significant concern for patients requiring long-term treatment, particularly those who need multiple prescriptions or costly medical interventions. High retail prices can add to the financial burden on families already facing expenses related to hospitalisation, diagnostic tests and follow-up care.
The trade margin represents the difference between the price at which a product is purchased by a trader and the price at which it is sold, subject to applicable pricing rules. Restricting margins can help curb excessive mark-ups, although the final price paid by consumers also depends on manufacturing costs, taxes and other components of the pricing structure.
The court’s intervention places the focus on the scope of existing price-control mechanisms and whether they adequately protect consumers across the pharmaceutical sector. A wider regulatory approach could require the government to examine different categories of medicines, medical devices and their distribution chains.
The Centre’s response will be important in determining whether additional measures are considered. Any expansion of controls would need to balance the objective of affordable treatment with the need to maintain medicine availability and a functioning pharmaceutical supply chain.
The proceedings underline the continuing debate over access to affordable healthcare and the role of government regulation in ensuring that essential medicines remain within the reach of patients.