India will cut the prices of as many as 137 cancer drugs by up to 70%, the government has announced, widening price controls in a bid to make treatment more affordable for millions of patients.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, has capped trade margins on the 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of the maximum retail price. The revised prices take effect on November 9, 2026.
The order, issued through Gazette notification S.O. 5690(E) on October 17, 2026, invokes the authority's extraordinary powers under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. It covers non-scheduled formulations containing any of the 137 listed drugs, whether individually or in combination, regardless of strength, dosage form or route of administration.
The drugs covered
The 137 medicines include immunotherapy drugs used to treat more than 20 types of cancer, as well as Denosumab, used by breast and prostate cancer patients, Pegfilgrastim, which helps prevent neutropenia in cancer patients, and Bevacizumab, approved for colon, ovarian and cervical cancers.
Widely used medicines such as Pembrolizumab, Durvalumab and Osimertinib are among those covered — drugs that can cost patients several lakhs of rupees over the course of treatment. The government expects the measure to generate annual savings of around Rs 2,500 crore for patients.
An expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services, comprising oncologists, medical specialists, hospital experts and government officials, recommended the list of 137 drugs. The list will be updated periodically.
Supreme Court pressure
The intervention followed a marathon Supreme Court hearing on September 29, 2026, when a two-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta scrutinised documented cases of extreme retail markups in the oncology drug supply chain. In one case, a medicine purchased at Rs 2,700 by hospitals and retailers was resold to patients at Rs 27,000 — a markup exceeding 900%.
The justices labelled such pricing structures "extortion" and "carnage", prompting an immediate government response. The judicial pressure followed a five-year public-interest litigation filed by the advocacy group Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, which had demanded equitable pricing across all non-patented essential medicines.
State authorities, patients, civil society and public platforms had also raised concerns about the substantial difference between procurement costs and the retail prices charged to consumers, with the NPPA noting that cancer treatment in India often results in catastrophic health expenditure for families.
Building on the 2019 price cap
The latest decision builds on price controls introduced in 2019, when trade margins were capped at 30% for 42 anti-cancer drugs. Following that exercise, the maximum retail prices of 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines fell by up to 90%.
The key test now is whether the revised prices reach patients without disrupting access to essential oncology treatments — and whether lower medicine prices translate into reduced patient bills, given that hospitals and pharmacies must adjust to the new pricing rules.