Centre Caps Trade Margins at 30% for 110 Non-Scheduled Cancer Drugs

Key facts

• The Centre has decided to cap the trade margin at 30 per cent for 110 non-scheduled cancer drugs, including 35 patented medicines, covering branded, generic, domestic, imported, patented and non-patented medicines.
• The move, likely to take effect in about 10 days, could reduce Maximum Retail Prices of some cancer drugs by up to 70 per cent.
• An analysis by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority found the average trade mark-up for such drugs was approximately 170 per cent, extending up to 700 per cent in some cases.
• The list of 110 drugs is being finalised by a committee under the Director General of Health Services; eligible drugs must be expensive, approved for cancer treatment in India, and in frequent use.
• In 2019, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority had capped trade margins for 42 cancer medicines at 30 per cent, resulting in MRP reductions of up to 91 per cent.
• Prices of scheduled drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines are already controlled by the government under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order 2013.