The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has undertaken trade margin rationalisation (TMR) of 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs.
“Price of these medicines even after margin cap will remain out of reach of many people. Gopakumar, co-convenor of the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatments. Because hospitals may find ways to charge high prices on other items, consumables, diagnostics, consultation charges, etc,” said K.M, the move alone will not bring down the cost of treatment.
It added that an expert committee comprising leading oncologists, medical specialists, experts from hospitals across the country, and government officers recommended 137 drugs for inclusion under TMR.
“The move is aimed at making cancer treatment more affordable, and improve access to anti-cancer medicines,” said a senior Union government official. “This list would be updated periodically,” said the release.
The present exercise extends this approach to a larger set of anti-cancer drugs, based on the list recommended by the Expert Committee under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS),” notes a release issued by the Centre. The move is expected to bring down the maximum retail price (MRP) of the identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs by up to 70%, depending on their existing price structures. “This intervention builds upon the success of NPPA’s 2019 pilot TMR exercise, under which trade margins for 42 anti-cancer drugs were capped at 30%. Following that exercise, MRP of 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines was reduced by up to 90%.
