Anti-cancer drug prices: new MRPs in force for 1,364 formulations; one Rs 713 pack now costs Rs 25

Anti-cancer drug prices printed on packs across India changed on Monday, 9 November, and the list of cheaper medicines has lengthened since the first count. By Sunday, 8 November, 85 companies had filed revised maximum retail prices for 1,364 formulations of 121 drugs, the drug price regulator NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) said. A day earlier the figures stood at 76 companies and 1,225 formulations.

The regulator’s estimate of what patients will save in a year has risen to Rs 3,540.38 crore, from Rs 3,502.31 crore on 7 November. Brands whose price has more than halved number 679, up from 600. The steepest cut remains 96.45%.

What the full list shows

The brand-wise list the NPPA put out on 9 November runs to 1,366 entries, two more than in the Sunday count. In 1,165 of them the new MRP is lower than the old one. In 201 the two prices are identical.

The 96.45% cut belongs to Anastaze, a 1 mg tablet of anastrozole, a breast cancer medicine, sold by Hyderabad-based MedPlus Health Services. A pack of 10 falls from Rs 713.30 to Rs 25.35. At the other end, Servier’s Voranigo 40 mg stays at Rs 6,00,000 for 30 tablets.

Three Hyderabad drug makers account for 152 entries. Hetero Healthcare has 59, of which 57 are cheaper. Natco Pharma has 57, with 53 cheaper, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories 36, with 22 cheaper. Hetero’s Cizumab 400 mg injection, a bevacizumab brand, drops from Rs 57,816 to Rs 10,211. Dr Reddy’s Versavo 400 mg vial goes from Rs 55,005 to Rs 12,400.75.

The uneven result follows from the way the rule is written. The order of 17 October limits the trade margin on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs to 30%. Trade margin is the gap between the price a manufacturer charges its stockist and the MRP. The NPPA has said this does not make every medicine 30% cheaper, and that the reduction varies with the brand, strength and pack. Our earlier report has more of the price changes.

If a shop charges more

Medical shops and hospital pharmacies cannot bill above the revised MRP. Patients in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana can match the price on the pack against the Pharma Sahi Daam app, or against the list at nppa.gov.in. The NPPA asks buyers to keep the bill and the medicine’s packaging. With those, an overcharging complaint can go to the Pharma Jan Samadhan portal, the helpline 1800-111-255 or the State Drug Controller.

The limit covers the listed medicines alone. It does not extend to other charges in cancer treatment, and the NPPA said existing patient assistance programmes are not expected to be affected.