The government has approved capping trade margins at 30% of the maximum retail price for non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, a move expected to cut prices by up to 70%.

The decision, announced on October 9, is projected to save patients about Rs. 2,500 crore a year, according to official sources.

The cap will cover branded and generic, domestic and imported, patented and non-patented anti-cancer drugs. A DGHS expert committee will finalise the medicine list by October 14 before the NPPA issues its notification.

NPPA analysis found non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines carried average markups of around 170%, with some cases exceeding 700%, according to reports.

The cap targets distributor, retailer and hospital margins rather than the price manufacturers charge their first buyer.

It builds on a 2019 intervention that covered 42 selected drugs and delivered estimated savings of Rs. 984 crore. Scheduled anti-cancer drugs worth about Rs. 2,250 crore are already under fixed ceiling-price control, so the new cap targets the remaining non-scheduled market.