Mumbai:
Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has said markups of up to 2,800 per cent on everyday medical consumables used in hospitals “need to be explained properly”. He has asked the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to examine whether these items should be brought under price control.
“If that product can be purchased by a hospital at, say, Rs 11 and the MRP is at Rs 325, they need an explanation for that,” Mundhe told NDTV’s Shiv Aroor in an exclusive interview on Thursday, referring to intravenous (IV) sets. “The percentage difference, 2,800 per cent, is beyond comprehension on the face of it,” he added.
The FDA compared the procurement prices paid by hospitals with the maximum retail prices (MRP) printed on the products, Mundhe said.
“What we found is that between the MRP which is printed, which is available in the hospital, and the hospital procurement price, there is a huge gap. And that gap is not explainable, at least to our minds,” he said.
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