The Supreme Court has flagged a ten-fold markup on cancer drugs sold through corporate hospitals. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the matter this week. The court said a cancer drug with a price to retailer of about Rs 2,700 carried an MRP of Rs 27,000.

Justice Mehta called it carnage. The bench asked why the maximum retail price should not be capped at 16 per cent above the retailer price. It asked the Centre to respond.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the government. He said the issue needs attention and a balance must be found. The court also questioned hospitals that force patients to buy from in-house chemists.

It noted that patients who buy from outside are sometimes denied treatment assurances. The bench said corporate hospitals act as industries, not service providers. When treatment is covered by schemes like Ayushman Bharat, taxpayers foot the inflated bills, it said.

The court was hearing petitions on drug price regulation and generic prescriptions under the Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013. It also questioned the essential versus non-essential drug distinction.