How do price caps affect cancer treatment affordability?

Price caps and trade margin controls significantly lower the out-of-pocket costs for critical oncology treatments:

1. Direct Price Cuts Up to 70%

30% Trade Margin Cap: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, implemented Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, capping trade margins at 30% of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.

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Substantial MRP Reductions: Capping excessive trade margins in distribution and retail channels is expected to lower the MRP of these non-scheduled cancer medicines by up to 70%, depending on their previous price structures.

Building on Past Success: This measures extends NPPA's 2019 pilot exercise, which capped trade margins on 42 anti-cancer drugs at 30% and resulted in price reductions of up to 90% across 526 brands.

2. Expanded Access to High-Cost Cures

The 137 capped medications, selected by an expert committee of leading oncologists and medical specialists, cover major high-cost therapies:

Immunotherapy Drugs: Capped for therapies covering more than 20 types of cancers.

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Targeted Biologics & Specialty Drugs: Includes Denosumab (breast and prostate cancer), Pegfilgrastim (neutropenia prevention), and Bevacizumab (colon, ovarian, and cervical cancer).

Widely Used Advanced Drugs: Significantly lowers retail prices for critical oncology treatments such as Pembrolizumab, Durvalumab, and Osimertinib.

3. Implementation, Transparency & Enforcement

Timeline: The revised prices take effect on 9 November 2026. Manufacturers must notify the NPPA of updated price lists within 7 days of the notification.

Mandatory Retail & Hospital Display: Hospitals and pharmacies—which account for a substantial direct supply of oncology medicines—are legally required to charge reduced prices from the implementation date and prominently display revised price lists on their websites and premises.

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Consumer Verification: Patients and families can track and verify official revised prices through the Pharma Sahi Daam mobile application and the NPPA portal.

Monitoring: State Drug Controllers are tasked with enforcing strict compliance across manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and hospitals.

4. Preventing Supply Shortages

To protect patient access, the policy balances margin control with safeguarding legitimate manufacturer revenues.

Pharmaceutical companies are mandatory required to maintain current production and supply levels for all notified formulations, preventing artificial market shortages or supply disruptions.