India has cut the price of cancer medicines by up to 70% after its drug regulator capped the trade margins pharmaceutical companies and distributors can charge on 137 anti-cancer drugs.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) imposed the cap — 30% of the maximum retail price — on 17 October under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, and the revised prices took effect on 9 November. The move covers immunotherapies used to treat more than 20 types of cancer, as well as denosumab for breast and prostate cancer patients, pegfilgrastim to prevent infections during chemotherapy, and bevacizumab, used against colon, ovarian and cervical cancers.
By 4 November, 70 companies had reported revised prices for 120 of the 137 drugs, with the steepest single cut reaching 96.45%. The regulator estimates the reductions will save patients about ₹3,357 crore a year, based on sales volumes from April 2025 to March 2026. Average reductions across the reported drugs run between 20% and 70%.
The NPPA has published revised maximum retail prices for 543 brands on its website, with the list updated on a rolling basis as companies submit their figures. Patients can check the new prices on the regulator’s website and through its official Pharma Sahi Daam mobile app.
The cap applies to branded and generic medicines alike, including patented drugs, and the government has asked manufacturers to maintain current production levels so that cheaper prices do not lead to shortages. The regulator has used the same trade-margin power before on other high-margin categories, but this is its widest intervention in cancer care.
The relief, however, has limits. Cheaper medicines do not by themselves make cancer treatment affordable: diagnostics, hospital stays, surgery and radiotherapy all sit outside drug price control, and a lower price on paper only helps once a brand’s revised price has actually been notified. For families facing one of the most expensive illnesses in India, the cap is a meaningful step — but only one part of the bill.
Sources: Press Information Bureau, Government of India (https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2324743&lang=1®=3); National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority factsheet, 6 November 2026 (https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/nov/doc_10402_20261106_14031101.pdf)
