Navratri gift: Govt caps margins to 30% for 137 anti-cancer drugs; revised prices from Nov 9

Cancer treatment in the country is set to become significantly more affordable following a major regulatory intervention by the country's drug pricing authority National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

The NPPA has undertaken Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) on 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs in the public interest. The move aims to tackle excessive trade margins, improve accessibility, and bring down the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of these critical medicines by up to 70%, depending on existing price structures.

The fresh intervention expands upon the success of NPPA's 2019 pilot TMR exercise, which capped trade margins for 42 anti-cancer drugs at 30%. That previous effort successfully reduced the MRP of 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines by up to 90%. The current move is based on recommendations from an Expert Committee under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Comprising leading oncologists, medical specialists, hospital experts and government officers, the committee deliberated and recommended 137 drugs for inclusion. The list will be updated periodically.

Using these recommendations, the NPPA has capped the trade margin at 30% of the MRP in accordance with Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013. The Gazette notification was issued on October 17, 2026, and is available on the official NPPA website.

All manufacturers must inform the NPPA of their revised prices within 7 days of the publication of the Gazette notification. The revised prices will officially become effective from November 9, 2026.

Manufacturers are required to display these price lists on their websites and widely disseminate them to all retailers and hospitals. Retailers and hospitals must charge the reduced prices effective November 9, 2026, and display the revised prices in their pharmacies, while hospitals must also prominently showcase them on their websites. Consumers can verify revised prices using the Pharma Sahi Daam app and the NPPA website.

'Will limit anti-cancer drug margins': Centre tells SC

The Union government on October 12 informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to regulate trade margins on anti-cancer medicines by capping them at 30% of the maximum retail price (MRP), prompting the apex court to call for a broader review of medicine pricing across the pharmaceutical sector.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the Centre would notify a specific list of cancer drugs subject to the trade margin cap.

The apex court expressed concerns regarding substantial disparity between the prices at which medicines are supplied to retailers and their printed MRP which puts financial burden on patients and the necessity of an effective regulatory framework.

During the hearing, the top court highlighted the example of an Indian-made cardiac stent supplied to retailers at around Rs 5,000 while carrying an MRP of Rs 25,000 questioning the justification for such a wide gap. In response, SG Mehta said that stents were already subject to existing price caps.

The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on October 27.