Massive markup on high-cost drugs: Raids to continue, Karnataka writes to Centre

The Karnataka government has flagged the disparity between the institutional landing costs and the Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) of high-value medicines, cancer drugs, antibiotics and hospital consumables supplied to hospitals across the State.

The department has raised the issue with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader, in a letter dated September 23, wrote to the Union Health Minister seeking action.

Massive markup

Recent investigations by the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) have revealed that pharmaceutical companies are supplying medicines to hospitals at heavily discounted institutional (landing) prices, while patients are being billed at or near the printed MRP, resulting in markups ranging from 10 times to over 52 times the actual procurement cost.

During inspections, the FSDA found extreme pricing anomalies in 253 drugs. For the cancer drug Cytax 100 mg, the landing cost was ₹342, while the MRP was ₹3,836, reflecting a markup of 11.2 times.

In the case of Gufipol, manufactured by Criticare, the markup was as high as 52.6 times, or 5,165%.

11-point letter

The Karnataka government has requested the Centre to mandate transparency in institutional pricing by requiring hospitals to display both the landing cost and MRP on patient bills, expand the list of drugs under price control under the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), and regulate trade margins on essential high-value medicines and consumables.

The State has also sought the constitution of an inter-ministerial expert group, a national data study, and amendments to, or supplementation of, the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.

Other demands include rationalisation of trade margins, mandatory cost-to-MRP transparency, expansion of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), and creation of an audit and enforcement mechanism.

Drive to continue

Another special verification drive was conducted on September 25 and 26, 2026, at various wholesale premises, hospitals and other establishments in Bengaluru and district headquarters across Karnataka. According to the FSDA, preliminary observations indicate substantial differences between the landing cost, the MRP and the actual sale price of certain high-cost drugs, medical devices and hospital consumables. The inspections covered more than 768 consumable items and 189 high-cost drugs. The findings will be brought to the notice of the Central Government, the FSDA said in a statement.

According to the FSDA, the special verification exercise will continue in a phased manner. In the next phase, enforcement and verification activities will focus, among other categories, on antiretroviral drugs, higher-generation and critical antibiotics, medical devices and hospital consumables with substantial financial implications for patients.

Khader unveils SuMi

Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader released the new mascot for the Karnataka State AIDS Control Society on Thursday.

The mascot, SuMi, short for Suraksha Mitra, was selected from around 1,500 entries. The winning mascot was designed by Navya of Athena College of Nursing, Mangaluru.

The competition was organised by the AIDS Control Society to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. It was conducted across all districts for people above the age of 16.