'Govt allowing this to happen': Supreme Court questions overpricing of medicines, massive gap in MRP and cost to retailers
The Indian Supreme Court has criticized the government and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority over the significant price gap between medicine manufacturing costs and retail prices. The court questioned why the government allows such high markups and requested more stringent oversight of drug pricing.
Why it matters
This highlights a critical tension between pharmaceutical industry profitability and public access to affordable life-saving medications in India.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre over the significant gap between the maximum retail price (MRP) of medicines and the prices at which retailers purchase them, questioning the government's oversight of drug pricing in the country.Hearing two petitions that raised concerns over medicine pricing, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned why the system appeared to favour pharmaceutical manufacturers and asked whether such practices should be allowed to continue unchecked, according to PTI.Also Read | SC orders Centre to form panel for law on unethical pharma marketing “The government is allowing this to happen.
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