[india-drug] Wholesale and Retail Margins for Essential Medicines

["anita kotwani" <anitakotwani@msn.com>]

Dear All,

A Medicine Price and Availability survey was conducted in Rajasthan to
measure   the prices   and  availability  of  essential  medicines  in
the private and public sectors. A standardized methodology methodology
developed  by  WHO/HAI (Health Action International) was used for this
study.  This  survey showed that, in  general,  the prices in private
pharmacies were approximately two to three times the government procurement price.  The retail price of certain  medicines such as albendazole, diazepam, and diclofenac was 8, 26, and 14  times the procurement price in the public sector. This indicates that wholesale and retail margins are probably very high or that the  manufacturers charge higher prices in the private sector.

Recently, six  additional  edicine Price surveys have been conducted
according to the WHO/HAI  Medicine  price  methodology at different
sites - Chennai,  Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.
These surveys also showed that the average price of the lowest priced
generic of diazepam in the private sector was 33 times the average
public sector procurement price.

Therefore, regulatory authorities must study the price structure of
essential medicines. The results of this series of surveys show that
there is an urgent need for transparency in the mark-ups (margins) of
manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.

Dr. Anita Kotwani
Reader
Department of Pharmacology
Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute
University of Delhi
Delhi, India
Email: "anita kotwani" <anitakotwani@msn.com>