Cancer patients to get relief as NPPA imposes 30% margin rule

In a landmark decision aimed at easing the financial burden on cancer patients, the NPPA has capped the trade margin for 137 non‑scheduled anticancer drugs at 30 percent of the maximum retail price. The regulation, known as Trade Margin Regulation (TMR), is slated to cut the MRP of many medicines by as much as 70 percent.

Effective from 9 November 2026, the new pricing scheme follows a 2019 pilot that limited margins for 42 cancer drugs, resulting in price slashes of up to 90 percent across more than five hundred brand names.