Cancer drug prices to fall by up to 70 pc under 30 pc trade margin cap from November 9

The government has capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent, with revised prices taking effect on November 9. The NPPA expects prices to fall by up to 70 per cent and annual patient savings to reach Rs 2,500 crore.

Hyderabad: Maximum retail prices for 137 critical non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs have been slashed by up to 70 percent following a regulatory cap on trade margins at 30 percent, promising substantial financial relief to cancer patients across India.

Cancer medicines have notoriously carried massive price tags because middlemen extracted their share of margins before the medicines hit the pharmacy shelf. Under the new rule, the government has made it clear that anyone selling these drugs can only add a maximum 30 percent margin on top of the original wholesale price.

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For patients and families dealing with expensive targeted treatments and immunotherapies, the new rule will go a long way in making expensive cancer therapy affordable. There have been instances where margins at every level used to drive the costs of the cancer drugs up by as much as 70 percent.

The targeted regulatory price capping is expected to directly impact some of the most expensive targeted therapies. Some of the therapies that could be potentially affordable include specialized monoclonal antibodies and advanced kinase inhibitors utilized in precision oncology to treat lung cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and colorectal cancers.

Advanced oral therapies such as Osimertinib and Palbociclib and high-cost biological treatments like Bevacizumab and Pertuzumab‘, which previously carried heavy retail margins stretching the monthly budget of families, will now enable them to afford.

More than 35 patented formulations have been brought under the pricing capping net alongside 75 other non-scheduled oncology drugs. By capping trade margins at 30 percent , cancer patients and families will save roughly Rs. 2,500 crore annually, with overall medicine prices dropping by up to 70 percent.

As part of the new price capping rolled out by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the drug manufacturers are now required to adjust their pricing lists through the Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System (IPDMS) to comply with the mandated revisions.

List of the 137 cancer drugs:

1. Abemaciclib

2. Abiraterone acetate

3. Acalabrutinib

4. Afatinib

5. Alectinib

6. Alpelisib

7. Amivantamab

8. Anastrazole

9. Apalutamide

10. Asciminib

11. Atezolizumab

12. Avelumab

13. Axitinib

14. Azacitidine

15. Belantamab Mafodotin

16. Bevacizumab

17. Bosutinib

18. Brentuximab Vedotin

19. Brigatinib

20. Busulfan

21. Cabazitaxel

22. Cabozantinib (S) – Maleate

23. Capmatinib

24. Carfilzomib

25. Carmustine

26. Ceritinib

27. Cetuximab

28. Cladribine

29. Clofarabine

30. Crizotinib

31. Cytarabine

32. Dabrafenib

33. Dacomitinib

34. Daratumumab

35. Darolutamide

36. Dasatinib

37. Datopotamab Deruxtecan

38. Decitabine

39. Degarelix

40. Denosumab

41. Dostarlimab

42. Durvalumab

43. Elranatamab

44. Enfortumab vedotin

45. Entrectinib

46. Enzalutamide

47. Epirubicin

48. Erdafitinib

49. Eribulin mesylate

50. Erlotinib

51. Estramustine

52. Everolimus

53. Exemestane

54. Fludarabine

55. Fulvestrant

56. Gilteritinib

57. Goserelin acetate

58. Ibritumomab

59. Ibrutinib

60. Idelalisib

61. Ifosfamide & Mesna

62. Nivolumab and Relatimab

63. Pegylated Liposomal Irinotecan

64. Inotuzumab Ozogamicin

65. Interferon Alpha 2B

66. Ipilimumab

67. Ivosidenib

68. Lapatanib

69. Lazertinib

70. Lenvatiniba

71. Lomustine

72. Lorlatinib

73. Lymphoseek kit

74. Megestrol

75. Midostrurin

76. Mirvetuximab soravtansine

77. Mitomycin

78. Mitoxantrone

79. Nelarabine

80. Netupitant

81. Nilotinib

82. Nimotuzumab

83. Nintedanib

84. Niraparib

85. Nivolumab

86. Obinutuzumab

87. Ofatumumab

88. Olaparib

89. Osimertinib

90. Palbociclib

91. Panitumumab (Vectibix)

92. Pazopanib (as Hydrochloride)

93. Pegasparginase

94. Pegfilgrastim

95. Pegylated interferon Alpha 2B

96. Pembrolizumab

97. Pemetrexed

98. Pertuzumab

99. Pertuzumab + Trastuzumab

100. Plerixafor

101. Polatuzumab Vedotin

102. Pomalidomide

103. Ramucirumab

104. Regorafenib

105. Relugolix

106. Ribociclib

107. Rucaparib

108. Ruxolitinib

109. Selpercatinib

110. Selumetinib

111. Serplulimab

112. Sotorasib

113. Sunitinib

114. Talquetamab

115. Teclistamab

116. Tegafur + Uracil

117. Tegafur, Gimeracil and Oteracil

118. Temsirolimus

119. Tepotinibe

120. Thiotepa

121. Tislelizumab

122. Tocilizumab

123. Topotecan

124. Toripalimab

125. Trabectedin

126. Trametinib

127. Tremelimumab

128. Treosulfan

129. Trifluridine + Tipiracil

130. Triptorelin

131. Tucatinib

132. Vemurafenib

133. Venetoclax

134. Vinorelbine tartrate

135. Vorasidenib

136. Zanubrutinib

137. Zolbetuximab..