Mundhe Flags 2,800% Pharma Trade Margin, Calls for Transparency

Tukaram Mundhe has called for greater transparency in the pharmaceutical sector after a survey flagged a trade margin of 2,800 per cent, saying such a mark-up is not acceptable to consumers, hospitals or regulators.

Speaking on the findings, Mundhe said that while no industry — pharmaceutical or otherwise — can be expected to operate at a loss, the scale of the margin in question raises serious concerns. "A trade margin of 2800 per cent is not acceptable, either as a consumer or as a hospital or as a regulator," he said.

He stressed that profitability and transparency need not be in conflict, and that the sector must be open about how prices are arrived at. The survey's findings have renewed attention on pricing practices in the pharmaceutical supply chain, where trade margins can significantly inflate the final cost borne by patients and healthcare institutions.

Mundhe's remarks place the issue squarely in the public domain, framing it as a question of accountability that affects everyone from individual buyers to large hospitals and the regulators tasked with overseeing the market.