The Supreme Court has questioned the steep mark-ups on cancer drugs, calling the gap between factory prices and the price patients pay nothing short of carnage. The court asked why medicine prices cannot be capped at just 16 per cent above the retailer's cost.

A bench hearing a case on medicine pricing said cancer patients are being crushed by bills that bear no relation to what drugs actually cost. It noted that a drug made cheaply can reach patients at many times its production price.

The court has asked the central government to respond on whether a 16 per cent margin cap on medicines is possible. It also asked why drug price control applies to only a small set of scheduled medicines while most others escape any cap.

The matter will be heard again on 12 October 2026. The court's remarks could shape how India prices essential medicines, especially cancer drugs that force families to spend huge sums out of pocket.