The All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD) has welcomed the government’s decision to cap trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines at 30%, calling it a crucial step in making these essential drugs more affordable.
Apex National trade association All India Organisation of Chemists & Druggists (AIOCD) on Thursday welcomed the Indian government’s decision to rationalise trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, describing this action as an important step towards making life-saving medicines more affordable and accessible to patients.
In a press release, AIOCD also emphasised that the government move of to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP for non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines is expected to bring down the prices of several high-cost medicines in the country.
AIOCD’s Long-Standing Advocacy for Fair Pricing
The organisation asserted that it has been consistently raising the issue of rational and transparent MRP fixation with the Government, Department of Pharmaceuticals, NPPA and other concerned authorities.
The organisation has long advocated that excessive gaps between PTR and MRP should be addressed through a clearly defined and uniform pricing mechanism. It further highlighted that the Government had adopted the same principle in 2019 for 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, leading to a substantial reduction in the MRPs of hundreds of brands.
MRP Determined by Manufacturers, Not Chemists
AIOCD president JS Shinde and general secretary Rajiv Singhal stated that the rationalisation of cancer medicine prices is an important step in the larger interest of patients. “Rationalisation of cancer medicine prices is an important step in the larger interest of patients. AIOCD has repeatedly submitted memoranda and representations seeking a transparent mechanism for MRP fixation and implementation of the 42% criterion over PTR wherever appropriate,” said Singhal.
They further emphasised that MRP is determined and printed by the pharmaceutical manufacturer, and therefore, any excessive mark-up must be addressed at the source. Hence, genuine chemists and distributors should not be held responsible for an MRP determined upstream in the supply chain, said AIOCD.
Call to Extend Policy to Other Medicines
AIOCD urged the Government to extend the same scientific, transparent and uniform approach to other essential and high-cost medicines wherever disproportionate MRP is found.
The organisation reiterated that a balanced pricing policy should simultaneously ensure affordable medicines for patients, rational and transparent MRP fixation, reasonable and sustainable trade margins, uninterrupted availability of medicines, and fairness across the pharmaceutical supply chain. AIOCD expressed the hope that the present initiative will pave the way for a comprehensive national policy on rational MRP fixation, in the larger interest of patients and the general public.
Details of the Government’s Move
All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists is an apex national trade association which represents over 12.4 lakh retail chemists, pharmacists, and pharmaceutical distributors across the country. The Chemist body’s remarks came after the Government of India decided to move to cap trade margins at 30 per cent of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, said official sources on Thursday.
According to official sources, the move is expected to cover expensive cancer drugs, including patented medicines, and could result in up to a 70 per cent reduction in their MRP, with estimated annual savings of Rs 2,500 crore. The proposed measure would cover branded and generic, domestic and imported, as well as patented and non-patented anti-cancer medicines. The proposed decision is also aimed at reducing out-of-pocket expenditure for cancer patients. (ANI)
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