India, Oct. 11 -- image credit- freepik

The government has approved capping of margin on supply and sale of non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. This margin will be limited to 30% of the maximum retail price (MRP). This measure is expected to bring down drug prices by up to 70% and help cancer patients save Rs 2,500 crore annually, which will significantly reduce the amount they have to pay out of pocket.

Stringent rules of maximum prices fixed by the government are already in place on essential cancer drugs included in the scheduled list. Under the new decision, price protection has also been increased for those cancer drugs (which are 'non-scheduled' or 'out of the list'); For this, the margin that can be added to patients before they rea...