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Maharashtra FDA Flags 2,800% Markup on IV Sets, Seeks Centre's Help

2 hours ago

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has asked the Centre to review medical device pricing after a survey found markups as high as 2,800%.

Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration has asked the Centre to step in after a state survey found that some intravenous sets carry a markup of roughly 2,800 percent between the price manufacturers charge hospitals and the amount printed on the label. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the gap points to a pricing and profit problem that needs a fresh look.

Mundhe has written to the National Pharma Pricing Authority, which sits under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, requesting intervention. His letter follows a study by the Maharashtra State Price Monitoring Resource Unit, an arm of the state FDA, which examined how medical devices are priced across retail and trade channels.

"A trade margin of 2,800 per cent is by any terms not acceptable, either as a consumer or as a hospital or as a regulator," Mundhe told NDTV in an interview. He said no industry is expected to run at a loss, but the pricing must be open to scrutiny.

The survey looked at IV sets, syringes, nebuliser oxygen masks and a range of other equipment used in hospital inpatient departments. It recorded markups reaching as high as 29 times the cost of procurement on essential inpatient items.

Among the examples cited, the Medifusion IV set made by Mediplus in Haryana was bought at Rs 11.05 but carried a maximum retail price of Rs 325, a margin of 2,841 percent. A comparable product from Lyvofusion showed a margin of 2,091 percent.

The pattern extended to other devices. A standard 10 ml syringe from Lifelong Meditech in Delhi was priced at Rs 57.2 despite a purchase cost of Rs 6.75. An adult nebuliser mask kit made by Vinjoh Healthcare cost Rs 45 but reached patients at Rs 652.

Mundhe said any correction should follow due process and involve talks with the industry, so the outcome works for everyone. Manufacturers would be asked what inputs and profit levels they expect, while the pricing authority and government would decide what margin should be permitted.

"Basically there has to be a fair trade, fair margin of profit. But it cannot be opaque," he said. He added that a fair return is necessary for companies to stay in business, but that the pricing must remain honest and clear to buyers and regulators alike.

Tukaram Mundhe, Maharashtra FDA, IV set pricing, medical device markup, NPPA, pharma profit, medical device MRP, drug pricing India

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