Cancer drug prices to be cut from November 9, NPPA revises rates for 543 brands

New Delhi: The millions of rupees spent on cancer treatment will now be somewhat reduced for many patients and their families. Following a decision by the central government, many essential cancer medications will become significantly cheaper nationwide starting November 9th. Drug prices have been reduced so significantly that some have become 80 to 90 percent cheaper.

The government-run National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised the prices of 543 brands of cancer drugs. Additionally, the government has capped the trade margin on 137 anti-cancer drugs at 30 percent. It is believed that this will make medicines available to patients at lower prices and reduce the burden of treatment to some extent.

The new prices will be effective from November 9. Several drugs widely used in cancer treatment have received price reductions.

How much did the prices of which medicines decrease?

• The price of Anarzole has been reduced from Rs 695.76 to Rs 73
• The price of Azacytin Injection has come down from Rs 6,337 to Rs 1,495
• The price of Bevacizab Injection has been reduced from Rs 21,767 to Rs 5,930
• The price of Dasanat 20 has come down from Rs 2,812 to Rs 1,085
• The price of Enuta has been reduced from Rs 6,578 to Rs 2,232

The government states that the goal of limiting trade margins and reviewing prices is to make essential medicines more affordable for patients. After the new rates are implemented, many key cancer treatment drugs will be available nationwide at significantly lower prices than before.