Syringes, needles being sold at highly inflated prices: NPPA analysis

Syringes and needles are being sold at prices far higher than their rates to distributor with maximum trade margins going up to around 1,250 per cent in some cases, the national drug pricing regulator has said. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has said, based on available data from official sources and manufacturers and importers, it has analysed trade margins in syringes and needles. Hypodermic disposable syringes 5 ml with a needle which have an average price to the distributor of Rs 2.31 are being sold at an average maximum retail price of Rs 13.08 with maximum trade margin going as high as 1,251 per cent, the regulator said in a memorandum. Hypodermic disposable syringes without a needle in 50 ml size are being sold at a maximum trade margin of 1,249 per cent.

The average cost to the distributor of these syringes is Rs 16.96 while they are being sold at an average MRP of Rs 97, it added. Insulin syringes 1 ml are being sold at maximum trade margins of 400 per cent with needles and at 287 per cent without needles, the regulator said. Maximum trade margin is as high as 789 per cent for the disposable hypodermic needle whose average price to the distributor is Rs 1.48 and average maximum retail price is Rs 4.33, NPPA said. Epidural needle whose average price to the distributor is Rs 160 is being sold at an average maximum retail price of Rs 730, at a maximum trade margin of 356 per cent, it added. "We have studied the trade margin report on Syringes and Needles by NPPA, and acknowledge the very high trade margins in this product range motivated by an unhealthy race to defend or attain hospital and retailer customers with luring them with higher trade margins than competing brands,"All India Syringes and Needle Manufacturers Association (AISNMA) President Rajiv Nath said. AISNMA has already pro-actively taken the initiative of curbing the trade margin to a maximum of 75 per cent over the ex-factory price and most of its members have already confirmed to abide by this self-regulated cap, he added.