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Why Are Cancer Drugs So Expensive? India Today Checks MRP, PTR & Patient Costs

Why Are Cancer Drugs So Expensive? India Today Checks MRP, PTR & Patient Costs

Business Today
Business Today
  • New Delhi,
  • Sep 25, 2026,
  • Updated Sep 25, 2026, 12:52 PM IST

An MRP of ₹27,000 — but a Price to Retailer of around ₹2,700. Why are there such massive differences between the prices printed on some cancer medicines and the prices at which retailers procure them? Following observations by the Supreme Court on the high prices of life-saving cancer drugs, India Today conducted a reality check in Delhi’s medicine wholesale market. We spoke to representatives of the Delhi Drug Traders Association and medicine traders to understand how drug prices are determined and examined the gap between MRP and PTR. At the Delhi Cancer Institute, patients and their families also spoke about the financial burden of cancer treatment and the cost of medicines. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter next on September 29.