Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta fault NPPA over MRP gap
The Supreme Court has called out the big gap between the maximum retail price (MRP) of medicines and the price to retailers.
Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned why drugmakers get to benefit from this, especially since there is no real check on trade margins.
They even said the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is not doing its job well enough.
The government pushed back, saying it does not fully control prices, and a decision is still pending.
Supreme Court found 30% cap insufficient
Earlier this month, the Centre tried capping trade margins for anticancer drugs at 30% of MRP, but the Supreme Court felt that was not enough.
The government says these steps could save patients about ₹2,500 crore each year, and points out that India's medicine prices are already among the world's lowest.
The court is keeping a close eye on things and reserved its order in the matter.