SC slams government for poor drug pricing policy

Responding to a public interest petition, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the new national pharmaceutical pricing policy framed by the government for fixing prices of essential medicines in the country.

A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi asked the union government to file its response on the petition challenging the policy, and raised questions about the prices of medicines fixed by government.

"Margin of profit for manufacturers and dealers has become 10 per cent to 1,300 per cent of the cost of manufacture of the drug," the bench said after going through a data provided by the petitioner in the PIL.

The bench also pulled up the centre for dilly-dallying on the issue of price fixation for the last 10 years, saying that nothing has been done despite various committees including a parliamentary committee deliberating on the issue.

The assessment was made by the petitioner after analysing the market price, the price fixed by government and the cost of production of the drug.

While hearing another case, the court had earlier also slammed the government for not controlling the prices of vital drugs during the last 18 years.

The court had made it clear to the centre that it should not form a pharmaceutical policy which may cause increase in the price of essential drugs.

The court had said drugs prescribed by doctors were getting beyond the reach of the common man, and "any formula for price fixation which goes against common man should be quashed".