Govt expands price controls on cancer medicine; patients expected to save ₹2,500 crore annually

New Delhi: The government has approved a cap on the margins charged in the supply and sale of non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. These margins will be limited to 30% of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP). The measure is expected to reduce medicine prices by up to 70% and help cancer patients save ₹2,500 crore annually, significantly reducing the amount they pay from their own pockets.

According to a press release, essential cancer medicines included in the scheduled list are already subject to strict government-set ceiling prices. The new decision extends price protection to non-scheduled cancer medicines, which are outside that list, by limiting the margins added before they reach patients.

Meanwhile, 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 then take a decision and issue the notification.

Cancer incidence has been rising in India, with approximately 60 people per lakh population affected by cancer. Treatment places a heavy financial burden on patients and their families, who often have to pay substantial amounts from their own pockets.

NPPA’s analysis of market data found that non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines carry an average price mark-up of approximately 170%, reaching 700% or more in some cases. In simple terms, the price rises sharply as the medicine moves through the supply chain before reaching the patient.

Prices also vary significantly depending on whether the medicine is bought from a retail pharmacy, a hospital pharmacy or an online pharmacy. State authorities, including those in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka, along with patients and civil society, have raised serious concerns about excessive medicine prices. These concerns have also been voiced on public platforms, particularly over the large gap between the price at which medicines are purchased for sale and the MRP charged to consumers.

Such high margins, especially on expensive cancer medicines, substantially increase patients’ treatment costs. The new cap will curb excessive profiteering, address unfair pricing practices in the market and help ensure fairer prices for patients. The Government’s earlier intervention shows how limiting these margins can bring substantial relief to patients, the release said.

Earlier in February 2019, on the Government’s direction, NPPA capped trade margins on 42 selected non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. That decision reduced MRPs by up to 91%, with reported annual savings of ₹984 crore across 526 brands. It significantly reduced the financial burden on cancer patients and improved their ease of living.

Building on that experience, and addressing the pricing problems identified in the supply chain, the Government has now approved the wider cap. The expected annual savings of ₹2,500 crore will bring further relief to patients undergoing cancer treatment.

To ensure that these life-saving medicines remain available, manufacturers of non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs will be required to maintain their current production levels.

The intervention will cover non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines across categories: branded and generic, domestically produced and imported, and patented and non-patented. This will help patients benefit significantly from lower prices while ensuring continued availability of the medicines they need.