PALAMPUR: The scam of very highly priced medicines is at a peak where difference between cost prices (CP) and maximum retail price (MRP) for generic drugs are ranging between one hundred percent to seven hundred percent and Union and state governments have become silent spectators with consumers being cheated by the medical companies as well as retailers.
Despite the fact the Essential Commodities Price Control Act is applicable in many states in the country which also covers the sale of drugs but no action has been initiated against erring companies by any state so far. Union Ministry of Chemicals had time and again assured the consumers that it would come out with policy fixing the margin of profit of retailers and whole sellers but nothing has been done till date.
This correspondent had conducted a detailed survey in this regard and met over fifty whole sale and retail dealers of medicines, also collected the whole sale and retail price lists of various standard drug companies through RTI and other sources, revealed that all the chemists were charging MRP from the consumers which was fixed at a very high rates.
There was a general impression among the consumers that margin of profit in standard companies were restricted only between ten to twenty percent, but if one go through the whole sale price list of even standard companies, these were also cheating the consumers by allowing the retailers to charge profit of one hundred percent to seven hundred percent. All these documents are in the possession of this correspondent.
A senior officer of the State Health Department when contacted by us said that MRP is always fixed by the drug companies itself and state has no control on it. It may be recalled that there were over one hundred drug manufacturing units of standard companies in the state supplying drugs all over India but State Government was ignorance about the margin of profit being charged by them.
If these companies were allowing retailers to charge 800 percent profit, what would be manufacturing cost of these drugs? Then that could be even less than one rupee in many cases, if the whole sale price lists of these companies issued in December 2008 to its dealers, was believed. Though this correspondent had wholesale and retail price list over 2000 brand of drugs but it is bringing in notice only those drugs which were being used by every third Indian daily, for the treatment of all ailments.
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NAME OF MEDICINES |
COST PRICE |
|
MRP |
PACK |
MARGIN
OF PROFIT |
| 1. CIPCAL 500(Cal Carbonae 1250mg+Vit d3 250 IU) |
6.50 |
|
39.90 |
20×15 |
613% |
| 2. CIPLOX I.V. 100ML (Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride 200mg) |
19.00 |
|
55.00 |
100ml Bottle |
289% |
| 3. NIMUPAIN PLUS TABS(Nimesulide 100mg+Paracetamol 325mg) |
6.10 |
|
30.45 |
30×10 |
499% |
| 4. NIMUPAIN PLUS SUSP-ORANGE (Nimesulide 50mg+Paracetamol 125mg) |
10.60 |
|
27.50 |
60ml |
259% |
| 5. ORS POWDER (Orange) (Sodium Chloride + Potassium Chloride) |
4.10 |
|
13.44 |
20x21gm |
327% |
| 6.  DEFENAC DICLOFENAC 50 MG |
3.75 |
|
20.02 |
25X10 |
533% |
| 7. DEFENAC DICLOFENAC INJ 3ML |
2.00 |
|
8.50 |
100X3ML |
425% |
| 8. HEPPTONE IRON TONIC |
27.15 |
|
55.00 |
200ML |
202% |
| 9. LATENOL 50MG ATENOLOL |
4.85 |
|
31.25 |
20X14 |
644% |
| 10. LUCIPRO-O CIPROFLOXACIN 500MG+ORNIDAZOLE |
29.20 |
|
80.00 |
10X10 |
273% |
| 11. LUPIDOM DOMPERIODONE 10 MG |
3.75 |
|
22.63 |
5X6X10 |
603% |
| 12. LUPILLIN AMPICILLIN 500MG |
30.55 |
|
58.00 |
10X10 |
189% |
| 13. LUPILLIN AMOXYCILLIN 250 CAPS |
15.30 |
|
21.00 |
30X10 |
137% |
| 14. LUPILLIN AMOXYCILLIN 250 MG |
19.00 |
|
52.52 |
20X15 |
276% |
| 15. LUPILLIN AMOXYCILLIN 500 MG |
39.20 |
|
95.25 |
10X15 |
242% |
| 16Â ALZENTHER AMPULESÂ ARTEETHER 150 MG |
17.00 |
|
110.00 |
2ML |
647% |
| 17 AMUROL NX AMOXYCILLIN TRIHYDRATE 500 MG |
27.85 |
|
64.50 |
10s |
231% |
| 18 BACIPEN 250 CAP AMPICILLIN 250 MG |
10.20 |
|
30.80 |
10s |
301% |
| 19. O D CAPS OMEPRAZOLE 20 MG+ DOMPERIDONE 10MG |
11.90 |
|
63.75 |
10s |
535% |
| 20. OMEZOL OMEPRAZOLE 10MG CAP |
7.70 |
|
36.00 |
15s |
467% |
| 21Â OMEZOL OMEPRAZOLE 20MG CAP |
8.30 |
|
57.00 |
10s |
686% |
| 22Â O-WIN IV INJECTION OFLOXACIN 200MG+SODIUM CHLORIDE 900MG |
16.00 |
|
92.00 |
100ML |
575% |
| 23 PYRALGIN PARACETAMOL+NIMESULIDE TAB |
4.40 |
|
27.50 |
10s |
625% |
| 24. AVACARD-AT (Amlodipine 5mg+Atenolol 50mg) TABS |
7.70 |
|
36.75 |
10s |
477% |
| 25. CERZIN TAB (Cetrizine Dihydrochloride 10mg) |
2.50 |
|
21.00 |
10s |
840% |
| 26. CIPRACT -TZ (Ciprofloxacin 500+Tinidazole 600mg) Tabs |
22.60 |
|
67.94 |
10s |
300% |
| 27 .ENROBACT(Norfloxacin 100mg+Metronidazole 100mg)Suspe |
10.90 |
|
28.00 |
30ml |
256% |
| 28Â FENAK PLUS (Diclofenac 50mg Plus Paracetamol 500mg) gel |
14.50 |
|
45.00 |
30gm |
310% |
| 29. MIFECON-200MG TAB (MIFEPRISTONE 200MG) | 65.80 | 370.00 | 3X1 | 562% | |
| 30 Alegetone Injection ondansetron 2MG | 3.60 | 28 | 2ML | 777% | |
A senior journalist from Palampur.
