NPPA Caps Trade Margin on 137 Anti-Cancer Drugs at 30%

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which functions under the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has ordered a cut in the margin that traders may earn on 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines. The gazette notification carries the date 17 October 2026 and the cheaper prices become payable from 9 November 2026.

What the order does

Trade Margin Rationalisation, shortened to TMR, places a ceiling on what the distribution and retail chain may add to the price of a medicine. The ceiling has been fixed at 30% of the Maximum Retail Price, under the power given by Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. How far a particular brand becomes cheaper depends on the price it carries today, and the regulator expects reductions going up to 70% of the existing MRP.

How the list of medicines was drawn up

An Expert Committee working under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) studied the market and named the medicines. Senior cancer specialists, other doctors, hospital experts and officers of the government sat on this committee. The list of 137 formulations is not final for all time; it will be revised at intervals as the committee reviews fresh cases.

The 2019 pilot that came before

This is the second and far wider round. In 2019 the regulator ran a pilot in which the margin on 42 cancer medicines was held to 30%. After that order the retail price of 526 brands of non-scheduled cancer medicines came down, in some cases by as much as 90%.

What manufacturers, chemists and hospitals must do

• Every manufacturer has to report its revised prices to the regulator within 7 days of the notification being published.
• Price lists must be put on company websites and sent to chemists and hospitals.
• Chemists and hospitals must sell at the lower rate from the date of effect and display the new rates; hospitals must also show them online.
• State Drug Controllers will enforce the order on makers, dealers, retailers and medical institutions.

Why it matters

Cancer treatment runs for months and the medicine bill is the heaviest part of it for most families. By squeezing the margin rather than the manufacturer earnings, the regulator hopes to keep supply steady and avoid an artificial shortage, while patients pay less. Buyers can verify a revised rate on the Pharma Sahi Daam mobile application or on the regulator website.