New Delhi: Drug pricing regulator NPPA on Saturday capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer formulations at 30 percent, according to an official statement.
The move, effective November 9, is expected to slash retail prices of these critical life-saving medicines by up to 70 percent depending on their current price structures, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers statement said.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), functioning under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, implemented the Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) mechanism under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), 2013, following a gazette notification issued on Saturday.
The intervention stems from recommendations by an expert committee constituted under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), comprising leading oncologists, medical specialists, hospital experts from across the country, and government officials.
The committee recommended 137 drugs for margin rationalisation, and the list will be updated periodically.
The exercise builds on the success of NPPA’s 2019 pilot TMR initiative, in which trade margins on 42 anti-cancer medicines were capped at 30 percent, leading to an MRP reduction of up to 90 percent across 526 brands.
The measure broadens that framework to cover a significantly larger basket of cancer medicines, the statement said.
Drugmakers are mandated to publish revised price lists on their official websites and disseminate widely among retailers and hospitals.
Furthermore, retailers and hospitals must charge reduced rates from November 9 and display the revised prices in their pharmacies. Hospitals, which directly procure a substantial share of oncology medicines, are also required to prominently exhibit the new rates on their websites and will bear direct responsibility for ensuring the revised prices are implemented on the ground, it said.
Consumers can verify and check the updated drug rates through the NPPA website and the ‘Pharma Sahi Daam’ mobile app.
To ensure strict adherence, state drug controllers have been directed to enforce compliance across manufacturers, dealers, retailers, hospitals, and medical institutions.
Addressing supply-chain concerns, NPPA underscored that the rationalisation seeks to curb excessive margins in the distribution and retail channels without denting legitimate manufacturing revenues or causing artificial shortages.
Pharmaceutical companies have been directed to maintain their current production and supply levels for the notified formulations to guarantee uninterrupted and timely access to vital medicines for patients across the country, the statement added.
