Lucknow – A fresh audit carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has highlighted a pronounced mismatch between the amounts medical institutions actually pay for medicines and the Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) displayed on the packaging. In many cases, the printed MRP is dozens of times higher than the price the hospital pharmacy settles.
Scope of the investigation
The study scrutinised purchase logs from 214 pharmacy outlets situated in government medical colleges and private hospitals. Out of the 130 drugs examined, 36 exhibited MRPs that were more than ten‑fold the procurement price, with the most extreme example reaching roughly 67 times the cost paid by the hospital.
Polymyxin‑B injection tops the list
The largest disparity involved a Polymyxin‑B injection, a critical antibiotic for severe bacterial infections. Hospitals acquired the vial for ₹74.09, yet the label bears an MRP of ₹4,980.94 – a gap of nearly 67 ×.
Wide variations in essential injectables
Other high‑impact injectable medicines showed similarly stark differences. A drug used for advanced liver disease was bought for about ₹56 but carried an MRP of ₹3,050. Comparable mismatches were observed in treatments for serious bacterial and fungal infections.
Meropenem and Caspofungin price spreads
For Meropenem 1 g, a cornerstone antibiotic for resistant infections, the MRP ranged from roughly 5.3 to 10 times the purchase price, varying by brand.
Caspofungin 70 mg, an antifungal agent, displayed the steepest gap within this group. One formulation cost the hospital ₹800 but was marked at ₹21,230 (about 26.5 ×). Another batch was bought for ₹897.75 and labelled at ₹19,892.
Cancer and life‑saving drugs under the microscope
The audit also flagged several oncology and other vital medicines with inflated MRPs. While higher printed prices can give manufacturers leeway for discounts, the findings raise questions about how these figures are established and communicated to patients.
Medical devices echo the trend
Price inflation was not limited to pharmaceuticals. A three‑way stopcock was purchased for just ₹6.40 yet displayed an MRP of ₹163. Another piece of equipment cost the hospital ₹20.95 but bore a retail label of ₹500.
Limited availability squeezes patient choice
When a drug is stocked only in a specific hospital pharmacy—or is scarce in the open market—patients have little bargaining power to compare prices. Consequently, they may be forced to pay the inflated hospital‑pharmacy rate, potentially driving up overall treatment costs.
Implications for transparency and regulation
The FSDA’s revelations have intensified calls for greater pricing transparency, tighter procurement oversight, and routine monitoring of MRPs for both medicines and medical consumables. Better insight into the relationship between purchase costs and retail prices could help curb excessive mark‑ups and safeguard patients from undue financial strain.
