The Supreme Court has raised serious concerns over the wide gap between the price to retailer (PTR) and the maximum retail price (MRP) of medicines. During the proceedings, the Court highlighted an example involving an essential cancer medicine reportedly sold to retailers for ₹2,700 while carrying an MRP of ₹27,000, questioning why a medicine supplied at one-tenth of its printed price should carry such a high MRP. The proceedings brought the broader issue of medicine affordability into focus, particularly for patients who require costly therapies and may have limited ability to compare prices at the time of purchase.

The Court questioned why manufacturers should be permitted to establish MRPs several times higher than the actual price at which medicines are supplied to retailers. A major issue was the initial price fixation of non-scheduled medicines under the existing drug…