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Cancer drugs price cut: Centre caps trade margins at 30% of MRP for 110 medicines

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The cancer drugs price burden on patients could ease sharply after the Centre decided on Thursday, 8 October 2026, to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP for all non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines. Government sources told PTI the move will lower prices of 110 anti-cancer drugs, including 35 patented medicines, and is expected to be implemented later this month.

Key facts

  • Margin cap: 30% of MRP
  • Drugs covered: 110, including 35 patented medicines
  • Scope: branded and generic, domestic and imported, patented and non-patented
  • Possible MRP cut: up to 70%
  • Estimated patient savings: about ₹2,500 crore a year

How the 30% cap works

Trade margin is the gap between the price at which a manufacturer first sells a medicine to stockists and the retail price a patient pays. The cap limits that gap for anti-cancer drugs that sit outside the scheduled price-control list. Government sources said the step targets excessive trade mark-ups while keeping these life-saving medicines available. India Today reported that MRPs of some drugs could fall by as much as 70%, depending on their current margins.

Builds on the 2019 cancer drugs price pilot

The 30% ceiling is not new. In 2019 the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) applied it to 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. According to the government, that step cut the MRPs of 526 brands by about 50% on average and saved patients an estimated ₹984 crore a year. The new decision extends the same approach to 110 drugs.

The move follows Supreme Court scrutiny of steep mark-ups on cancer medicines. The court had discussed a possible 16% margin, similar to the retailer margin on scheduled drugs, but did not order a nationwide cap. The matter is listed for 12 October, Business Today reported.

Why it matters

Cancer treatment often runs for months, so lower MRPs at the pharmacy counter cut out-of-pocket costs every time a family refills a prescription. The NPPA already had ceiling prices for 131 anti-cancer drugs as of March 2026; this cap reaches medicines outside that price-control list.

Source: Business Today, India Today, Mint, PTI via Swadesi

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