New Delhi: The Union government has approved a 30% cap on trade margins for non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, a move expected to reduce prices by up to 70% and save cancer patients around ₹2,500 crore annually.
The decision, announced by the Press Information Bureau on Thursday, extends price controls to cancer medicines that are not included in the scheduled list of drugs already subject to government-mandated ceiling prices.
Under the new measure, the margins charged in the supply and sale of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines will be restricted to 30% of the maximum retail price (MRP).
An expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will finalise the list of medicines to be covered. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will subsequently take a decision and issue a notification.
According to the government, NPPA’s analysis of market data found that non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines carried an average price mark-up of around 170%, with the mark-up reaching 700% or more in some cases.
Prices also varied significantly depending on whether medicines were purchased from retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies or online platforms.
The government said the high margins on expensive cancer medicines added substantially to patients’ treatment costs. The new cap is intended to curb excessive pricing and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.
The decision builds on an earlier intervention in February 2019, when the government directed the NPPA to cap trade margins on 42 selected non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
That measure reduced maximum retail prices by up to 91% and generated reported annual savings of ₹984 crore across 526 brands, according to the government.
The latest intervention will cover non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines across branded and generic categories, including domestically manufactured and imported drugs, as well as patented and non-patented medicines.
To prevent supply disruptions, manufacturers will be required to maintain existing production levels of the medicines covered by the measure.
The government cited the rising cancer burden and the high cost of treatment as reasons for extending price protection. It said the new measure was expected to provide further financial relief to patients and their families.
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