The Supreme Court asked how a cancer injection that costs a dealer Rs 11,000 could be billed to a patient at Rs 1.30 lakh.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard two petitions on the gap between printed MRPs and what retailers and hospitals pay.

Justice Mehta gave the example of a dealer whose wife was being treated in a hospital.

The hospital refused to use an injection the dealer brought and charged Rs 1.30 lakh for it. The bench asked the Centre where the money went.

At issue is a 30 percent trade margin cap on 137 cancer medicines. Revised prices take effect on November 9.

The Centre estimates the cap will save patients about Rs 2,500 crore a year. That figure is an estimate, since the new prices have not started yet.

The judges asked why margin controls should stop at cancer drugs, and suggested considering a uniform 16 percent cap across medicines.

That suggestion came up during the hearing. It is not a ruling and has no legal force on its own.

The Centre defended its policy as a balance between affordability, availability and growth of the drug industry.

The court reserved its verdict on October 27 and did not set a date for the judgment.

Read the full article for more on the case and the price rules involved.