India, Oct. 30 -- From November 9, a pack of 21 capsules of one brand of palbociclib, a breast cancer drug, will cost Rs.2,720 instead of Rs.40,421. It is one of hundreds of cuts in the revised prices the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) published on Wednesday, all the result of the Centre's decision to cap the share that distributors, chemists and hospitals can take on 137 cancer medicines at 30% of the maximum retail price.

According to the World Health Organization's Global Status Report on Cancer, released in July, about half of cancer patients and their families face catastrophic health spending. In India, researchers who surveyed more than 12,000 patients at seven cancer centres for a 2023 study funded by the Union ...