India to cut prices of 137 cancer drugs by up to 70%

Cancer treatment in India is about to get a lot cheaper. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), part of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has capped the trade margin on 137 cancer medicines at 30% of their retail price. The regulator says this will bring prices down by up to 70%, with the new prices taking effect on 9 November.

What changes

The trade margin is what distributors, wholesalers and pharmacies share between the factory price and the maximum price a patient pays. For some cancer drugs, it was very high. It is now capped at 30% of the retail price, and manufacturers have seven days from publication of the order in the official gazette to report their new prices.

Not every drug will fall by the same amount: it depends on how big each one’s margin was. For those with the largest mark-ups, prices could drop by as much as 70%. The government estimates patients will save around ₹2,500 crore a year (₹25 billion).

Which drugs are covered

The list was drawn up by an expert committee of the Directorate General of Health Services. It includes:

• Immunotherapies used for more than 20 types of cancer, such as pembrolizumab and durvalumab.
• Osimertinib, for a type of lung cancer.
• Bevacizumab, for colon, ovarian and cervical cancers.
• Denosumab, used in breast and prostate cancer.
• Pegfilgrastim, which helps prevent serious infections during chemotherapy.

It has worked before

India has done this before. In 2019, it applied the same 30% cap to 42 cancer drugs, and the prices of 526 brands fell by up to 90%. The new measure covers more than three times as many medicines, including some of the newest and most expensive treatments.

The aim, the regulator says, is to “make cancer treatment more affordable, and improve access to anti-cancer medicines”. The list can be updated over time.