Cancer Drug Mark-Up: Supreme Court Reserves Verdict on Price Cap PIL

The Supreme Court on 27 October reserved its verdict on a public interest litigation that seeks price controls on medicines and trade-margin caps on medical devices, after a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the Centre and private hospitals. The petition, filed by advocate Kishan Chand Jain, also asks for mandatory generic prescriptions. Reports of the hearing say the bench’s remarks were oral observations, and the written ruling is still awaited.

Margins Far Above Cost, Bench Says

According to LawChakra, the bench cited a chemotherapy injection with a dealer price of ₹11,000 that was billed at ₹1,30,000, and a saline drip line billed at ₹250 against a retailer price of ₹15. It called such margins “loot”. The bench also noted that about 90 per cent of medicines fall outside the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, and asked why the order exists if that continues. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for private hospitals, argued that they fill gaps in the public system and carry round-the-clock costs, and that forced margin cuts could hurt them badly.

Centre Defends 30% Cancer Drug Cap

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court the government keeps adjusting its pricing policy and has recently capped trade margins on anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent of the maximum retail price. The Centre also argued that one uniform cap could disrupt supply chains, The420 reported. The bench called the approach too erratic to count as calibration. Our earlier report covers the NPPA cap on 137 cancer drugs, which takes effect on 9 November.

Also read DPDP Act: Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Reply on News Publishers’ Plea

The case has run for weeks. On 22 and 29 September the bench criticised mark-ups on cancer drugs, and Justice Mehta asked on 29 September why a 16 per cent margin on MRP should not apply across the board, a figure the 2013 pricing order already uses for some medicines.

No Date Yet for the Ruling

The court has not said when it will pronounce the verdict. Until it does, the 30 per cent cap on anti-cancer drugs remains the only margin limit the Centre has announced. More court stories are in our Daily Updates section.

Source: Based on reporting by LawChakra, The420.in and Verdictum.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.