Price to Stockist
Also called: PTS · Topic: Markets, Equilibrium and Government Intervention · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Price to Stockist (PTS) is the price at which a drug company sells a medicine to its stockist. A stockist is the wholesaler who buys in bulk and supplies chemists and hospitals. The medicine then passes through the trade chain before it reaches the patient at the MRP (Maximum Retail Price, the highest price allowed to be printed on the pack and charged). The trade margin is the gap between the price the supplier gets and the retail price. PTS matters because companies do not disclose it, so nobody outside the company can check whether the MRP is fair or whether margins are calculated honestly.
Example
In 2026, NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) applied Trade Margin Rationalisation (a cap on the margin that distributors and retailers can add) to 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. Hospitals and retailers often give discounts of 20–60% on MRP. Such large discounts suggest big hidden margins, but without PTS data the real gap cannot be measured. For this reason, the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers asked for studies on the gap between PTS and MRP.
Don't confuse with
- MRP: MRP is printed on the pack and is public. PTS is the company's selling price to the wholesaler, and it is hidden from the public.
- Ceiling price: this is a maximum price the government fixes for scheduled drugs under DPCO, 2013. PTS is set by the company itself and is not a government-fixed price.