The Union government has capped trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of their Maximum Retail Price (MRP), a move expected to reduce prices by up to 70% and save cancer patients around ₹2,500 crore annually.
The measure aims to ease the financial burden on patients by limiting the margins charged across the supply and distribution chain before medicines reach consumers.According to an official press release, essential cancer medicines on the scheduled list are already subject to government-mandated ceiling prices. The latest decision extends price protection to non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, which fall outside the list, by restricting the margins added during their sale and distribution.
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. - ANI
Infography:
1. Centre has capped trade margins on non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of their MRP
2. Expected to reduce prices by up to 70% and save cancer patients around ₹2,500 crore annually
3. Cancer incidence has been rising in India, with approximately 60 people per lakh population affected
