The Government of India has decided to put 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under price-control for affordable cancer care in the country by capping trade margins at 30% on these drugs. The move is expected to reduce their retail prices by 85 percent, covering 72 formulations and 355 pharmaceutical brands across the country.
The decision to bring these 42 non-scheduled cancer-curing drugs under price control through trade margin rationalization was approved by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under Para 19 of the Drugs Prices Control Order of 2013. As per the data available with NPPA, the 85% reduction in the MRP of these drugs will entail a minimum savings of ₹105 crores to the consumers.
“Currently, there are 57 anti-cancer drugs already under the price control as scheduled formulations. Now, additional 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines have been selected for price regulations by restricting trade margins on the selling price up to 30%,” the NPPA notification said.
“These would cover 72 formulations and 355 brands as per the data available. More data is being collected from hospitals and drug manufacturers to finalize the list,” it added. The NPPA has asked the manufacturers to recalculate the prices and submit more details within next seven days. The revised prices can come it effect from March 8, 2019.
The chairman of NPPA, Shubhra Singh believed that this move by the government can be a significant step towards its attempt to provide affordable healthcare for cancer treatment in India. Presently, there are over 1.5 million cancer patients in the country, with many of them quitting the treatment mid-way owing to the high cost of drugs, expensive treatment charges and lack of health insurance.