Revised prices for 137 identified non-scheduled cancer medicines will take effect in India on November 9, under a new trade-margin intervention by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals announced the implementation details on October 17. It said the regulator had capped trade margins at 30 per cent of maximum retail price, using Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
Manufacturers must notify NPPA of revised prices within seven days of publication of the Gazette notification. They must also publish price lists and circulate them to retailers and hospitals.
From November 9, retailers and hospitals must charge the reduced prices and display them in pharmacies. Hospitals must also place the revised lists on their websites.
The government expects reductions of up to 70 per cent, depending on existing prices. That is not a uniform discount across every medicine.
The companies must maintain production and supply of the notified formulations. State drug controllers are responsible for enforcing compliance throughout the distribution chain.
