30% in 2019, cancer drug margins at 700% now

A look at the mark-up on some of the drugs on which National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) put a trade margin cap of 30% on selling price in Feb 2019 shows that a majority had mark-ups of 100%-700% in the Authority's 2026 list. Citing this data, the All-India Drug Action Network, which works on access to affordable medicines, pointed out the futility of one-time MRP reduction as a policy measure in the absence of a mandate to maintain permanent margin caps along with consistent monitoring.