Drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals would have to pay Rs 71.21 crore for alleged over-pricing on drugs, following a recent directive from the Supreme Court.
The apex court has allowed the Centre's appeal and set aside the order of the Delhi High Court, thereby confirming the demand of Rs 71.21 crore raised by the Central Government, GSK told the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company is reviewing the contents of the Supreme Court judgment and will take necessary steps as may be legally advised, it added.
The two-decade-old dispute between the multinational and the Centre is over different versions of its Betamethasone, used in drugs for skin-related treatment. The dispute arose due to the difference at which the company sold the medicine to consumers, compared with the price fixed by the Drug Price Control Order.
Recently, at the GSK's shareholder meeting, the company top-brass said that products under the Governments price-control policy stood at 26 per cent of sales, at Rs 515 crore. This stood compared to last year's 27 percent.
Also in a similar boat is domestic drug-maker Cipla, which has been litigating over the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority's notices on five of its drugs, for several years now. The total over-charge amount claimed by the Government from Cipla has crossed Rs 1,000 crore. The company, on its part, has constantly maintained that the amounts demanded by the Government were not tenable and sustainable.