Cancer Drug: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has released revised maximum retail prices (MRPs) for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs.

Cancer drugs are cheaper.

Cancer Medicine Price Cut: Several cancer-treating drugs have received significant price reductions. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has released revised maximum retail prices (MRPs) for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. The new prices have reduced some generic and biosimilar cancer drugs by up to 93 percent. This change follows the implementation of a 30 percent trade margin cap. The revised prices will be effective from November 9.

Palbopro price cut by 93%

The biggest price cut has been seen in RPG Life Sciences' Palbopro. The price of this drug, Palbociclib, 125 mg, containing 21 capsules, has dropped from ₹40,421.33 to ₹2,720, representing a 93.3% reduction. This drug is used to treat certain types of breast cancer. The prices of Isogen's Palbociclib 100 mg and 125 mg capsules from Samarth Life Sciences have also been reduced by 91.4% to 91.6%. Khandelwal Laboratories' Vomazol, or Anastrozole, 1 mg tablets, for a 10-tablet pack, has dropped by 91.4% to ₹39.52, from ₹458.85 previously.

The price of RPG Life Sciences' Anastrozole 1 mg tablet pack containing 10 tablets has dropped from ₹695.76 to ₹73, a reduction of approximately 89.5 percent.

Abiralive and other medicines also became cheaper.

The price of abiraterone acetate, a 250 mg pack containing 120 tablets, for the Abiralive brand, used to treat prostate cancer, has dropped from ₹28,000 to ₹4,840, a reduction of approximately 83 percent. Another brand of the same drug, Abirate, has dropped from ₹36,088.81 to ₹4,064.48, a reduction of ₹32,024.33. The price of a 100 mg vial of Thiotepa, called Samtepa, has dropped from ₹80,071.86 to ₹7,150.33, a reduction of ₹72,921.53, representing a 91.1 percent reduction.

Prices of several brands of Bevacizumab have been reduced.

The price of a 400 mg vial of bevacizumab, ivazumab, has dropped from ₹69,852.12 to ₹13,512, a reduction of approximately 81%. However, the price of a 400 mg vial of Avastin, another brand of the same drug, remains at around ₹1.24 lakh. This means there is a significant price difference between different brands of the same drug. Furthermore, the price of 400 mg of bevacizumab has dropped from ₹65,205.09 to ₹8,956.75. The price of 400 mg of cizumab has dropped from ₹57,816 to ₹10,211. The price of ivazumab has dropped by ₹56,340.12, while the price of bevacizumab has dropped by ₹56,248.34 and the price of cizumab has dropped by ₹47,605.

Other drugs with significant reductions

The price of the Hurtumab formulation of Pertuzumab decreased from ₹94,951 to ₹30,593 per vial, a reduction of ₹64,358. The price of Lupiher 420 mg, another brand of Pertuzumab, decreased from ₹83,520 to ₹37,358.35 per vial, a reduction of ₹46,161.65. The price of Brakone 150 mg pack of Olaparib decreased from ₹46,364.05 to ₹11,573.68, a reduction of ₹34,790.37. The price of PEG L-Asparagine decreased from ₹41,845.97 to ₹7,766.85. The price of Abirate decreased by ₹32,024.33.

The price of RPG Life Sciences' Dabrumab 60 mg, or Denosumab injection, has been reduced from ₹22,031.25 to ₹5,941. The price of RPG's Anuta, or Enzalutamide 40 mg, 28 capsule pack, has been reduced from ₹6,578.20 to ₹2,232. The price of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' Azacitin 100 mg injection has been reduced from ₹6,337 to ₹1,495.04. The price of Abbott Healthcare's Bevacizab 100 mg/4 ml 4 ml vial has been reduced from ₹21,767.70 to ₹5,930.13. The price of Natco Pharma's Dasanat 20, i.e. Dasatinib 20 mg pack of 60 tablets, has been reduced from Rs 2,812.50 to Rs 1,085.93.

The price of Neon Laboratories' Erlib (erlotinib) 150 mg bottle containing 30 tablets has dropped from ₹4,637.45 to ₹2,008. Hetero Healthcare's Fludanox (fludarabine) 50 mg injection has dropped from ₹14,235 to ₹2,432. RPG Life Sciences' Fulbeca (fulvestrant) injection 5 ml vial has dropped from ₹26,072.16 to ₹5,491.

There is no change in the price of many expensive medicines.

However, not all cancer drug prices have decreased. The prices of several expensive single-source anti-cancer drugs remained unchanged. These include drugs with only one supplier or for which competing brands are not available in the market. These include Keytruda, which contains pembrolizumab. Its 100 mg vial remains priced at ₹216,500. The price of Tagrisso also remained unchanged. Sources suggest that the MRP of some original branded cancer drugs may already be close to the new NPPA limit, so their prices remained unchanged.

The price of 27 medicines is yet to be revealed.

Revised prices for 27 of the 137 drugs were not yet listed in the filings provided by the companies. These include abemaciclib, cabozantinib, dabrafenib, lazartinib, selpercatinib, soracib, and vemurafenib.