NPPA Caps Trade Margins on 137 Anti-Cancer Drugs

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has placed a ceiling on the trade margin that may be charged on 137 anti-cancer medicines, and the cheaper rates that follow will apply from 9 November 2026.

Who took the decision

NPPA functions under the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It acted on the advice of an expert committee set up by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), a body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The order carries notification number SO 5690 (E), is dated 17 October 2026 and stays in force until the authority says otherwise. The measure is known as Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) and covers anti-cancer medicines that lie outside the scheduled list, where prices were not capped earlier. The margin a seller may add is held at 30 per cent.

How far the prices fall

So far 76 drug makers have filed fresh retail prices for 1225 anti-cancer formulations, which between them cover 121 drugs. A lower price has been reported for 1031 of those formulations. Roughly 600 brands become cheaper by more than half, and the steepest single cut runs to 96.45 per cent. Of the 137 drugs on the list, ten to fifteen are not yet sold in India; the margin cap will apply to them as well on the day they reach the market.

What patients save

Once the revised rates begin, the yearly saving for buyers is put at Rs 3,502.31 crore. Several widely used brands of bevacizumab, abiraterone, palbociclib and pertuzumab now sell for a fraction of their earlier price. The medicines brought under the cap treat the commonest cancers.

How the rates will be policed

Every retailer, dealer, hospital and institution must put up the revised price list of anti-cancer medicines on its premises and on its website. State Drug Controllers are to watch whether makers, dealers, hospitals and medical institutions keep to the new ceiling. A patient can look up the price that ought to be charged through the Pharma Sahi Daam mobile application or on the NPPA website, and report overcharging to the authority. Companies may still take the yearly increase that Paragraph 20(1) of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 permits, so long as they stay within the permitted margin. The government describes the step as part of a continuing effort to make cancer treatment affordable and within reach.