The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent of their maximum retail price (MRP). The move is expected to reduce the prices of these medicines by up to 70 percent, depending on their existing price structures.
The revised prices will take effect on November 9, following a Gazette notification issued on October 17. The decision aims to curb excessive distribution and retail margins and reduce the financial burden of cancer treatment on patients.
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Key Cancer Medicines Covered
The list includes several medicines used to treat different types of cancer. These include immunotherapies used for more than 20 types of cancer, denosumab for breast and prostate cancer patients, and pegfilgrastim, which helps prevent neutropenia in cancer patients.
The list also covers bevacizumab, which is approved for treating colon, ovarian and cervical cancers. Other widely used medicines, including pembrolizumab, durvalumab and osimertinib, are also covered by the revised pricing rules.
The move is expected to improve patient access to these medicines by reducing their prices.
Builds on Earlier Price Control Measures
The latest decision builds on NPPA’s 2019 pilot exercise to rationalise trade margins on anti-cancer medicines. Under the initiative, trade margins on 42 anti-cancer drugs were capped at 30 per cent.
The measure led to a reduction of up to 90 per cent in the MRPs of 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines.
The expanded list of 137 drugs was recommended by an expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services. The committee includes oncologists, medical specialists, hospital experts, and government officials. The list will be updated periodically.
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Manufacturers Must Comply with New Rules
NPPA has imposed the margin cap under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
Manufacturers must inform the authority of the revised prices within seven days of the notification’s publication. They must also publish the updated price lists on their websites and circulate them widely among retailers and hospitals.
The revised rules aim to control excessive trade margins and make cancer medicines more affordable for patients.