# AiMeD seeks trade margin caps after UP pharmacy inspection 2026-10-09T02:37:33+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry (AiMeD) has called for rationalised trade margins after an inspection of 214 pharmacies in Uttar Pradesh found price gaps of up to 67 times between purchase prices and MRPs, according to Medical Dialogues. The widest gap was for a Polymyxin-B injection purchased at ₹74.09 with an MRP of ₹4,980.94. Separately, pharmaceuticals secretary Manoj Joshi said steep margins on medicines allow room for malpractice, including hospitals favouring expensive drugs with high margins and smaller manufacturers creating a nexus with doctors in smaller towns, Times of India reports. The government announced a 30% cap on trade margins for all cancer drugs on 8 October 2026. AiMeD has proposed a trade-markup band of 2 to 6 times and recommended pilot programmes to test a rationalised framework. The association cautioned against moving from excessive margins to unrealistically low levels that could cause shortages. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Medical Dialogues reports that AiMeD calls for trade margin caps on medical devices, citing a UP inspection that found markups of up to 67 times. Times of India, quoting the pharmaceuticals secretary, frames the issue through malpractice concerns and announces a 30% cap on cancer drugs. The two sources cover different angles: one focuses on a specific industry demand, the other on government action and broader unethical practices. Neither source contradicts the other, they supplement each other. The balanced reading is that while the government has capped margins on cancer drugs, the medical devices industry wants similar attention, and the secretary has flagged malpractice as a key concern. The next concrete step is the pilot programme AiMeD has proposed for a rationalised trade-markup framework. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - medicaldialogues.in (neutral report) Reports AiMeD's demand neutrally with no government framing - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Quotes secretary on malpractice and announces cancer drug cap This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: AIMED, Manoj Joshi, Rajiv Nath, UP Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/aimed-seeks-trade-margin-caps-after-up-pharmacy-inspection/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/aimed-seeks-trade-margin-caps-after-up-pharmacy-inspection/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/