New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned whether India’s drug pricing system was operating in the interests of pharmaceutical companies, expressing concern over the substantial difference between the maximum retail price (MRP) of medicines and the price charged to retailers (PTR).
The observations came after the Centre orally submitted that its policy was not to regulate the entire pharmaceutical ecosystem.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked why the system appeared to be working in favour of pharmaceutical companies. It also questioned whether the government should allow the disparity to continue despite being aware of the situation.
Referring to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the bench remarked that the regulator appeared to be “completely defunct”.
The court reserved its verdict on two petitions highlighting concerns over medicine pricing in India.
The proceedings focused on the wide gap between MRP and PTR and the government’s role in regulating medicine prices.
