Former chairman of the Nizamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and BJP leader P.R. Somani accused the pharma industry of looting the people of the country by printing abnormal MRP on the medicines.
The printed rate is up to 3,000 % above the manufacturing costs as there is no drug price policy to control the prices, he told media here on Saturday. Especially the poor and middle classes were getting squeezed due to high rates of medicines, he said and added that he submitted the detailed report of the looting with facts and figures and all proofs to the Central government requesting its immediate initiative to rein in the abnormally increasing prices of medicines including life saving drugs.
“There is a huge difference between wholesale price and retail price of medicines. For example, if pharmaceutical companies are selling medicine to wholesalers at ₹95 the wholesalers are selling them to retailers at ₹100. However, the retailers are selling the same at the ₹2,000. Manufacturers to sell their products and benefit the retailers printing ₹2,000 on the strip,” he added.
Mr. Somani said that he had met Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Sadananda Gowda and several secretaries of Union Government on the issue in the last two months appealing them to bring about an effect Act to control drug prices.
Former Minister D. Satyanarayana and Anand Somani were also present.
