Anti-Cancer Drugs Prices: The central government has ordered pharmaceutical companies to reduce the prices of three anti-cancer medicines. While presenting the budget for the financial year 2024-25 on July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced to reduce the custom duty on three cancer medicines to zero. After this, in the GST Council meeting held on 9 September 2024, GST on cancer medicines was reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent.
In such a situation, in line with the government’s commitment to ensure availability of cancer drugs at affordable prices, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued an office memorandum in which the companies manufacturing these drugs have been permitted to sell three anti-cancer drugs, Trastuzumab ( Order has been given to reduce the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) on Trastuzumab), Osimertinib and Durvalumab.
The Chemicals and Fertilizer Ministry said in its statement, in the budget of 2024-25, it was announced to exempt these three anti-cancer medicines from custom duty and in view of that, this order has been issued. The Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry had issued a notification on July 23, 2024, reducing the custom duty on these three cancer medicines to zero. Apart from this, the Department of Revenue had issued a notification on 8 October 2024 to reduce the GST rates on these three cancer medicines from 12% to 5% from 10 October 2024.
The ministry said, the MRP of these three cancer medicines in the market should be reduced and the benefit of reduction in taxes and duties should be passed on to the consumers. Due to this, NPPA has asked all the drug manufacturing companies to reduce their MRP on 28 October 2024. Also, manufacturing companies will have to issue price lists related to price changes to dealers, state drugs controllers and the government and will also have to provide information about changes in prices to NPPA.
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