New Delhi, November 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The government’s decision to cap trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines has prompted 70 pharmaceutical companies to reduce the maximum retail prices of 120 medicines by an average of 20 to 70 per cent, with estimated savings of Rs 3,357.49 crore for patients, according to an official factsheet released on Friday.
As of November 4, prices of 120 medicines had been revised, with the steepest reduction reaching 96.45 per cent. The revised prices will come into effect from November 9.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had capped trade margins on these medicines, including patented drugs, at 30 per cent of the maximum retail price (MRP) on October 17. The measure aims to curb excessive mark-ups across the pharmaceutical supply chain, including distributors, retail outlets and hospital pharmacies.
The estimated savings have been calculated by comparing the original and revised prices and applying the difference to sales volumes recorded between April 2025 and March 2026. The move follows concerns raised by state authorities, patients and civil society organisations over the gap between procurement prices and the MRPs of anti-cancer medicines.
Manufacturers are required to recalculate MRPs using their average distributor prices from March 2026. Medicines provided free under patient assistance programmes and direct government sales are excluded from the calculation.
Patients can check revised prices on the NPPA website and through the official Pharma Sahi Daam mobile application. The list of revised prices is being updated as companies submit their new rates.
Companies must notify the NPPA of revised prices, publish the reductions in newspapers, upload them on their websites and share the information with retailers and hospitals.
The government had earlier introduced a Trade Margin Rationalisation intervention in 2019, covering 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, to address high treatment costs.
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