The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, has undertaken Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) of 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs in the public interest. The step has been taken to address excessive trade margins, make cancer treatment more affordable, and improve access to anti-cancer medicines. The intervention is expected to bring down the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of the identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs by up to 70%, depending on their existing price structures. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has said the revised prices will be effective from the 9th of November. All the retailers and hospitals shall charge reduced prices and display the revised prices in their pharmacies. It said consumers can use the Pharma Sahi Daam app and the NPPA website to check revised prices of drugs. It added that State Drug Controllers will take necessary steps to ensure compliance by manufacturers and dealers, including retailers, hospitals and medical institutions.

The Ministry said that the intervention builds upon the success of NPPA’s 2019 pilot TMR exercise, under which trade margins for 42 anti-cancer drugs were capped at 30%. It said that, following that exercise, the MRP of 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines was reduced by up to 90%. The measure for TMR on anti-cancer drugs aims to control excessive trade margins in the distribution and retail channels while safeguarding legitimate manufacturer revenues and preventing artificial market shortages.