Archive · 27 Dec 2025
Pharma Stockists Earn Huge Margins on Medicines
Pharmaceutical stockists in India are making very high profits on medicines.
Some medicines have a price increase of up to 1,800% from the cost to the stockist.
This makes medicines very expensive for regular people.
A report showed that common medicines like allergy tablets and cold syrups have big price differences.
The government controls the prices of some medicines, but many are not regulated.
Officials say this is a problem, and a committee suggested better oversight and selling medicines at lower prices through a government program.
Doctors also want the government to do more to lower medicine prices.
Pharmaceutical stockists in India are earning margins of 600% to 1,800% on essential medicines.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee report highlighted huge discrepancies between the Price to Stockist (PTS) and Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
Examples include Cetirizine with a 1,038% margin and Calcium+Vitamin D3 with a 1,831% margin.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) regulates 'scheduled medicines' but not 'non-scheduled medicines'.
The Committee recommended stricter oversight of multinational pharmaceutical companies and selling medicines at PTS through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY) network.
- Who
- Pharmaceutical stockists and the Indian government
- What
- Exorbitant trade margins on essential medicines
- When
- Recent, as highlighted by a Parliamentary Standing Committee report
- Where
- India, particularly Hyderabad
- Why
- Due to lack of regulation on non-scheduled medicines and high government procurement prices
- Cetirizine
- MRP: Rs 21.60, PTS: Rs 1.85, Margin: 1,038%
- Esomeprazole
- MRP: Rs 180.50, PTS: Rs 25, Margin: 622%
- Calcium+Vitamin D3
- Margin: 1,831%
- Alkof LS syrup
- MRP: Rs 118, PTS: Rs 24, Margin: 392%
- Cheston Cold DS
- MRP: Rs 79.50, PTS: Rs 23.35, Margin: 240%