Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 30 (ANI): Healthcare and pharmaceutical stocks came under pressure on Wednesday, with the Nifty Healthcare index falling 424.90 points, or 2.57 per cent, to 16,137.75, a day after the Supreme Court questioned the wide gap between the prices charged to retailers and the prices paid by consumers for medicines.

The decline was broad-based across the healthcare index, with 19 of the 20 stocks shown in the index trading in the red. Laurus Labs was the only stock in positive territory, gaining 0.05 per cent.

Among the major decliners, Fortis Healthcare fell 6.33 per cent, while Apollo Hospitals declined 5.70 per cent and Max Healthcare dropped 5.33 per cent. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was down 4.37 per cent.

Other major pharmaceutical stocks also witnessed losses. Zydus Lifesciences declined 3.21 per cent, KIMS fell 3.23 per cent, Sun Pharma dropped 2.60 per cent, Cipla declined 2.41 per cent, Torrent Pharma fell 1.92 per cent, and Biocon was down 1.78 per cent.

The broad-based fall came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether a uniform cap should be imposed on retail prices of medicines and medical devices to prevent excessive markups over the price charged to retailers.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned why the Maximum Retail Price, or MRP, could not be restricted to 16 per cent above the Price To Retailer, or PTR, particularly in cases involving life-saving medicines.

The court also raised concerns over the wide difference between the price at which medicines are supplied to retailers and the maximum price at which they are sold to consumers.

Justice Sandeep Mehta cited the example of a cancer drug priced at about Rs 27,000 for consumers despite its price to retailers being around Rs 3,000, and said the disparity warranted scrutiny.

The Supreme Court also questioned the rationale for keeping non-scheduled medicines outside the price-control regime under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.

The bench further noted that high medicine prices could have an impact on public funds when patients receive treatment under government health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, particularly when hospitals require medicines to be purchased from their in-house pharmacies.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said a balance would have to be worked out while acknowledging the concerns raised by the petitioners.

The matter is scheduled to be heard again on October 12. (ANI)