PolicyHealth
Revised prices of 137 anti-cancer drugs take effect on Monday, with margins capped at 30%
Chemists and hospitals must charge the new, lower MRPs from November 9. The price authority has listed 643 revised brand entries so far, some cut by more than 90%, while three well-known brands are unchanged.
Key points
- New maximum retail prices for 137 anti-cancer drugs apply at every pharmacy and hospital from Monday, November 9.
- Trade margins on these medicines are capped at 30% of the MRP, and the government says prices could fall by up to 70%.
- The latest list has 643 revised entries, but Keytruda, Tagrisso and Imfinzi show no change.
New, lower prices for 137 anti-cancer drugs come into force on Monday, November 9, when every pharmacy and hospital in the country must start charging the revised maximum retail prices.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) announced the measure on October 17 under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. It caps trade margins at 30% of the MRP on the identified non-scheduled medicines. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said the change covers immunotherapy drugs used against more than 20 types of cancer, and that prices could fall by as much as 70%, depending on how each product was priced before.
What the lists show
Since then, the NPPA has been publishing lists of the new company-reported MRPs. The first, based on data received up to October 27, had 543 entries. The next, with data up to October 28, has 643 entries. These are brands, strengths and pack sizes, not 643 separate drugs, and the authority says the list will be updated as manufacturers submit revised prices.
The cuts vary widely. RPG Life Sciences’ Palbopro (palbociclib 125 mg, 21 capsules) falls about 93%, from ₹40,421.33 to ₹2,720. Abbott’s Bevacizab (bevacizumab 400 mg) drops from ₹65,205.09 to ₹8,956.75, and Cipla’s Armotraz (anastrozole 1 mg) from ₹784.71 to ₹146.78. Sun Pharma’s Decitex 30 mg injection moves from ₹5,199.78 to ₹2,751.50, a fall of about 47%.
Not every well-known brand has moved. Keytruda (pembrolizumab 100 mg) stays at ₹2,16,500, Tagrisso (osimertinib 80 mg, 30 tablets) at ₹4,16,492.48 and Imfinzi (durvalumab 500 mg) at ₹1,71,324.27 in the latest list. All three were named when the government announced the move.
What chemists and hospitals must do
From Monday, retailers and hospitals must charge the revised prices and display the updated rates. Hospitals must also put them on their websites. Manufacturers have to inform the NPPA of their revised prices within seven days of the gazette notification, publish new price lists on their websites and send them to retailers and hospitals. They are also required to keep production and supply of these drugs at current levels. State Drug Controllers will monitor compliance.
Patients can check the revised price of a medicine on the NPPA website or the Pharma Sahi Daam app. A lower printed MRP does not always mean an equal saving at the counter, particularly where a hospital or chemist was already selling below the old MRP.
Background
The step widens a 2019 pilot that brought price controls on 42 anti-cancer drugs, which, according to the government, cut the prices of some medicines by as much as 90%. On October 12 the Centre told the Supreme Court it would cap trade margins on cancer drugs at 30%, and the bench asked why the cap stopped at cancer medicines.