Now Reading: AiMeD seeks trade margin caps after UP pharmacy inspection
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AiMeD seeks trade margin caps after UP pharmacy inspection
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: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): medicaldialogues.in (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
