Centre to cap trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of MRP
Key facts
- The Centre told the Supreme Court it will cap trade margins on anti-cancer medicines at 30% of MRP.
- The cap covers non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, branded or generic, domestic or imported, patented or not.
- About 110 drugs are expected to be covered, including 35 patented medicines. A committee will finalise the list.
- The Court has asked for a wider review of medicine pricing across the pharmaceutical sector.
Why it matters
[Policy] Trade margin is the gap between what a retailer pays and the printed MRP. Scheduled drugs have ceiling prices set by the pricing regulator. Non-scheduled drugs do not. This move controls the margin instead of the price. The stated aim is to stop mis-selling of costly drugs. Link it to GS-2 health policy and GS-3 pharma regulation. The Court had noted a drug with an MRP of ₹27,000 that retailers bought for ₹2,700.