🇮🇳 Trending in India · 29 October 2026
Why are 543 cancer medicine brands getting cheaper in India?
What happened?
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) released a revised list of maximum retail prices (MRPs) for 543 brands and pack sizes of cancer medicines. The new prices come into force on 9 November 2026. One example: a strip of 10 Anastrozole 1 mg tablets (brand Anarzole) drops from Rs 695.76 to Rs 73. The list uses price data that companies sent in up to 27 October, and it will be updated as more manufacturers submit revised prices.
Why prices fell: a cap on trade margins
A trade margin is the gap between what a medicine costs the retailer and what the patient pays at the counter. On 17 October 2026, NPPA capped this margin at 30% of the MRP (not counting GST) for 137 'non-scheduled' anti-cancer drugs. This step is called Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR). The 137 drugs were chosen on the advice of an expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The list includes both patented and non-patented medicines, such as Pembrolizumab, Nivolumab, Olaparib and Denosumab.
What is the NPPA?
The NPPA is India's drug price regulator. It was set up on 29 August 1997 by a Government of India resolution and is an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It puts the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) into practice and keeps watch on the prices of both scheduled and non-scheduled medicines.
The legal basis: DPCO 2013
The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 is issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Scheduled medicines have government-fixed ceiling prices, but non-scheduled ones normally do not. Paragraph 19 of the DPCO lets the government fix or revise a drug's price in extraordinary circumstances and in the public interest, and that is the power used here.
Built on a 2019 trial
This is not the first time margins have been capped. In 2019, a pilot TMR exercise capped trade margins on 42 anti-cancer drugs at 30%. The 2026 move uses the same method on a much bigger list. Medicines that companies hand out through Patient Assistance Programmes (PAPs) are not covered by the cap.
Quick points
Quick quiz
1. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) works under which Union Ministry?
2. In October 2026, the NPPA capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at what share of the MRP (not counting GST)?
3. The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 is issued under which law?
Sources
- NPPA Revises Prices Of 543 Anti-Cancer Drug Brands, New Rates Effective November 9 - ETV Bharat
- Cancer drug prices slashed by up to 90%; new rates effective from November 9 - The Tribune
- NPPA caps trade margins for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs - ANI
- Trade Margin Rationalisation Covers 137 Anti-Cancer Drugs - GKToday
- NPPA FAQs - National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
