The pharmaceutical stockists in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai have boycotted the entire range of the GlaxoSmithKline Pharmacetuicals' (GSK) products from yesterday in protest against company's decision to fix trade margin exclusive of excise duty. By this stockists will be getting only a net margin of 6.5 per cent as against 8 per cent.

The stockists have threatened that agitation against GSK would spread to entire Mahrashtra in the next few days if the company management failed to reverse its decision, trade sources said..

GSK has over 100 products belonging to various therapeutic categories and many of them are considered to be essential. Maharashtra is one of the largest markets for the company in the country.

GSK enjoys a leadership position in the Dermatologicals, Corticosteroids, Vaccine and Thyroid preparation segments in which its products are represented. Vozet and Cetzine continue to be the leader in the Anti-histamine segment. Calpol, Neosporin and Phexin continue to grow and have further strengthened their position in their respective segments.

Dilip Mehta, president of the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association, said that there was no justification for GSK to cut the trade margins when no other pharma companies have reduced the margins.

In fact, the trade has been quite unhappy about the industry's propaganda stating that it has drastically reduced the trade margins of generic drugs. As there is hardly any sales of generic drugs take place in retail counters, such claims make no sense and is only an attempt to fool government and the public, the sources said.

Meanwhile the Union chemicals ministry's directive to pharmaceutical industry to print MRP inclusive of all taxes last month is still to be implemented as most companies have come out with various implementation hurdles.