NPPA Orders Price Monitoring on 137 Anti-Cancer Drugs

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which works under the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has ordered close watch over the way Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) is being applied to 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines. The measure was notified through a Gazette Order dated 17 October 2026, and the revised prices came into force on 9 November 2026.

Where the new prices are listed

Fresh price lists, prepared from information that companies sent in up to 11 November 2026, have been placed on the website of the Authority and on the Pharma Sahi Daam application and portal. Every manufacturer, retailer, dealer and stockist, along with hospitals and medical institutions, has been told to sell at the revised rates. They must also put the updated lists on display at their premises and on their own websites, so that a patient or an attendant can check the price before paying for a medicine.

What State Drug Controllers must do

The Authority has placed the duty of ground-level checking on State Drug Controllers. They are to verify that manufacturers, dealers, hospitals and medical institutions follow the order, and that the benefit of the lowered maximum retail prices actually reaches patients rather than stopping somewhere in the supply chain. Any breach can invite overcharging proceedings under the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. The controllers have been asked to send their Action Taken Reports to the Authority by 16 November 2026.

How patients can complain

A patient who is charged above the notified price, or who finds a listed medicine in short supply or simply unavailable, can report the matter in three ways. The first is the Pharma Sahi Daam application and portal. The second is the helpline of the Authority on 1800-111-255. The third is the monitoring email address of the Authority. Cancer treatment runs over long periods and the medicines are costly, so the Authority has stressed that compliance has to be checked rather than assumed.