Urgent necessity to decrease the profit margins in medicine sales and establish mechanism to regulate the price caps

Delhi : Arogya Sahayya Samiti (Hindu Janajagruti Samiti’s activity for the welfare of the society) submitted a representation on 4th December 2019 to The Hon’ble Minister, Hon’ble Minister of State and Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the demand to decrease the profit margins in medicine sales and establish mechanism to regulate the price caps.

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) is consistently raising above mentioned subject through All India Hindu Conventions and other platforms. HJS is a social organisation actively engaged in healthcare by providing free medical check-ups to the poor, arranging health camps etc.

Though at the top of life essential services, healthcare in India is absolutely non-affordable. Healthcare cost is increased by 170% in the last few years, which has led to rise in catastrophic health spending. Almost 70% of the Indian population is not covered under either public or private health insurance. Out of all healthcare costs in India, expenditure on medicine accounts for 49% of the total cost. Apart from this, 3.5% of the population go below poverty line every year.

In the current scenario, lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, High blood pressure, heart diseases etc. are common and patients with these diseases need medications on a regular basis. Most of the times such patients need life-long treatment with these medications. Cost of these medicines being very high, it becomes unaffordable for most people to take these medicines for a long period. For example, the average maximum retail price (MRP) of the top three leading brands for Bortezomib injection, an anti-cancer drug, is Rs. 11,411. A patient has to make repeated purchases of the drug over the period of treatment. It is also observed that various companies manufacture the drug with the same generic name or composition but the cost varies widely.

While selling the drugs, pharmaceutical companies follow a particular distribution system. i.e. Manufacturer – Distributor – Stockist – Dealer – Retailer etc. Cost of drug rises at each and every distribution point. At the end-selling point the profit percentage becomes 200 to 400% higher, sometimes much more than it. While supporting this price fixation, Pharmaceutical companies claim it is valid and natural as heavy investment is incurred on research activity. To elaborate this, a few examples are given below.

Arogya Sahayya Samiti in its representation said, “As of now, we are not concerned with the equations and politics that might be going undercover by the pharmaceutical companies. Our concern is primarily the undue, unnecessary exploitation of the poor, needy, uneducated and needy people who are being looted in broad daylight by these pharmaceutical companies. The Government charges various levies on liquors and other luxury goods to earn money which will be used for public benefits, which is not the case in hand. The exploitation can be comparable only to the loot by East India Company.”

Arogya Sahayya Samiti requested the concern authorities to look into the matter in the following ways,

a. Kindly verify the rates and costs details submitted by us.

b. Kindly call for a analytical report from the concerned Ministry/Department as to the prevalent costs and rates of medicines in the Markets from all over India as also the measures to prevent the loot of the
consumers/patients.

c. Kindly evolve a complaint mechanism whereby a consumer/customer can verify the cost and the rates of medicines.

d. Kindly pass necessary laws/regulations/guidelines that the manufacture and sale of medicines are essential services and will be regulated by Government.

e. Kindly take any such measures which would effectively prevent the loot of the common people.”

Click here to read the representation