The Supply Chain: A Game of Pricing and Fake Medicines

If you’ve ever watched Crime Patrol or an old Bollywood thriller, you know how kidnappings work. A child is taken, a ransom is demanded, and by the time they’re freed, an entire network has profited.  

Now, what if I told you the same thing happens with medicines? 

Life-saving drugs pass through multiple hands-suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers-each adding their cut. The price shoots up, but that’s not the worst part. Every extra layer in this chain increases the risk of fake or expired medicines slipping through. 

At SayaCare, we’re the investigators in this story-digging deep to expose the cracks in the system. What we found is alarming: Even when the government flags a medicine as Not of Standard Quality (NSQ), it’s often too late thousands have already consumed it. 

So, why does this happen? And how can you protect yourself? Let’s break it down-and show you why SayaCare is the safest choice. 

How Does Medicine Reach You? 

Ever wondered why some movies are hyped before release while others slip under the radar? That’s because making a movie and marketing it are two different jobs.

It’s the same with Pharma companies manufacture medicines, while marketing companies ensure that doctors are aware of them and prescribe them. They do this through Medical Representatives (MRs), who spread the word and explain its benefits. (Want to know more about MRs/Sales Representatives? Click here) 

So, how does a medicine’s journey change when a marketing company is involved? Let’s break it down. 

What do These Channels Mean For You? 

This entire chain exists for one reason-everyone handling your medicine wants their cut. And guess who’s footing the bill?- You. 

Does this benefit the patient? No, obviously not.  

Does it benefit the kidnapper (a.k.a. the marketing company)? Absolutely. 

The more hands your medicine passes through, the more the price inflates-just like a ransom where everyone wants a piece before releasing the hostage. And just like high-profile kidnappers who flaunt their power, pharma marketing companies do the same. Look at Manforce–they brought in Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador. Because apparently nothing says “trust our medicine” like a Bollywood legend selling it to you. 

What is The Profit Margin For Every Medicine at Each Channel? 

“The profit margin varies for each medicine. For a wholesaler, it is 5% on branded medicines and 10% on generics.” -Medicine wholesaler, Bareilly 

“The profit margin for each medicine varies. In generic medicines, it can go up to 80%, whereas for branded medicines, it is significantly lower.” -Pharmacist at a private hospital in Uttarakhand. 

From my conversations with retail pharmacists and wholesalers, I found something surprising-generic medicines, often seen as the cheaper option, can have massive profit margins. Retailers can make up to 80% profit on generics, while wholesalers take around 20%. In comparison, branded medicines offer lower margins-around 20% for retailers and 15% for wholesalers.  

Now that we understand how everyone takes their cut along the way, an important question arises: With all this money changing hands, is anyone actually ensuring your medicine’s quality and safety? Let’s examine whether a higher price tag actually guarantees better medicine………. 

Does Paying a Hefty Price Guarantee Better-Quality Medicine?

The medicine you trust with your life may already be compromised.

Paying more for medicine doesn’t guarantee quality. Like a hostage passing through many captors, your medicine changes hands repeatedly before reaching you-potentially exposed to heat, humidity, and mishandling that weaken its effectiveness. 

“A manufacturing unit never produces substandard medicine. But poor storage conditions during transport can mess with its quality.” -Manufacturer, Baddi, HP 

During my pharmacy studies, I visited a manufacturing facility. We followed strict hygiene protocols-hair covers, shoe covers, and sterile zones. But their own staff? Some casually walked around without protection. If this was happening in front of visitors, what happens when no one’s watching? 

And even if the medicine is manufactured properly, what happens after it leaves the facility? 

The government’s Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) reports reveal a disturbing truth: by the time substandard batches are flagged-typically 6-9 months after manufacturing-they’ve already been consumed. 

“When CDSCO flags a batch, big pharma brands recall their medicines. We return stock and ask retailers to do the same. Some comply, some don’t. By the time a batch is flagged, some of it has already been consumed.“ -Wholesaler, Bareilly  

By then, these medicines were already in people’s bodies. And even when wholesalers return flagged stock and ask retailers to do the same, compliance varies.

What does this mean for you, the consumer? It means you could unknowingly be taking medicine that has already been declared substandard-one that might not work as intended, cause unexpected side effects, or even worsen your condition. And since the recall process takes months, there’s no way to know if the medicine you just picked up is on the list. 

Even when medicines aren’t flagged as substandard, there’s another critical issue in the supply chain: what happens when these medicines expire? The handling of expired products reveals another layer of risk in the system.

What Happens to Expired Medicine? 

Even if a medicine isn’t flagged as substandard, improper handling can still make it ineffective or worse, dangerous. 

• Branded medicines – These can be returned to manufacturers, but some are relabeled and sold again. 
• Generic medicines – These are usually destroyed because they can’t be returned. 

Most medicines need controlled storage conditions-specific temperatures, humidity levels, and light exposure. In developed countries, pharmacies must maintain detailed records-temperature logs, stock reports, everything. 

In India? Most pharmacies don’t even maintain basic storage standards. 

• Air conditioning? Inconsistent-many switch it off when customers aren’t around. 
• Sunlight exposure? Medicines often sit directly under it. 
• Humidity? Never controlled. Most pharmacies are open structures, with zero protection from moisture. 

And if you think moisture isn’t a big deal, try this simple test-even my table salt absorbs moisture in a sealed container during monsoon. Imagine what happens to your medicines. 

While improper handling of legitimate medicines is concerning enough, the complex supply chain creates an even more dangerous opportunity-the introduction of completely fake products. The more hands your medicine passes through, the more vulnerable the system becomes to counterfeiting. 

Does a longer supply chain make it easier for counterfeit medicines to enter the market?

Imagine a grand gala, like in Ocean’s 8, where a diamond necklace is swapped for a fake in plain sight. No alarms, no chaos-just a perfect switch that no one notices until it’s too late. 

Now, think of medicines the same way. The longer they pass through hands-manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers-the easier it is for fakes to slip in unnoticed, just like the stolen necklace.

Here’s how it happens: 

1. Unverified Wholesalers – If a retailer doesn’t check a wholesaler’s credentials, they might unknowingly stock counterfeit medicines. Many transactions happen on trust, without proper documentation. 
2. Repackaging of Expired Drugs – Expired medicines are sometimes relabeled with new dates and resold as fresh stock. It looks perfectly fine, but the medicine has already lost its effectiveness. As the infamous case of Spurious Drugs Kingspin. 
3. Stolen Shipments – Authentic medicines can be stolen in transit, replaced with fake ones, and then resold. Without strict tracking, no one realizes the switch. 
4. Tampered Packaging – Criminals refill empty medicine bottles or blister packs with substandard or completely different pills and sell them back into the system. 

By the time these fakes reach the patient, they look just like the real thing-just like the fake necklace at the gala. But instead of losing money, patients lose something far worse: their health. 

Is there a law that regulates this supply chain? 

There is no law regulating the supply chain beyond ensuring medicines pass through licensed wholesalers and retailers. This means that a pill costing just a few rupees at the source can end up much pricier by the time it reaches you-not because it’s costly to make, but because everyone along the way takes their cut. So, while generics seem like the cheaper option, you might still be paying more than necessary without even realizing it.  

How is SayaCare Different?

With so many issues in the supply chain, how can you be sure your medicine is safe and fairly priced? This is where SayaCare comes in. Unlike traditional sellers, we cut out all middlemen-we buy directly from manufacturers, test medicines in a government-approved lab, and sell them to you through our e-pharmacy. No wholesalers, no retailers-just safe, tested medicines at up to 80% lower prices. 

We also monitor temperature and humidity to ensure proper storage (soon available on our website). Any tampering before testing is caught in the lab, and downstream tampering is nearly impossible-tampered boxes are easy to spot. With SayaCare, you get medicine that’s tested, safe, and truly affordable. 

Conclusion 

Medicines pass through multiple hands before reaching you-each step adding cost and risk. Despite government efforts to regulate prices, many medicines are still sold above recommended rates, exposing gaps in the system. 

SayaCare simplifies this process. By sourcing directly from manufacturers and verifying quality through independent labs, we ensure medicines are up to 80% cheaper and 100% authentic—without regulatory loopholes or inflated margins.

Because when it comes to your health, you deserve more than a system built on markups and middlemen. 

Mahak Phartyal

Mahak Phartyal completed her bachelor’s in pharmacy from Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University. She previously worked as a Medical Writer at Meril Life Sciences, where she wrote numerous scientific abstracts for conferences such as India Live 2024 and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). During her college years, she developed a keen research interest and published an article titled “Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, Physicochemical and Fluorescence Analysis of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis and Syzygium cumini Leaves.”