New Delhi, Oct. 27 -- Cancer medicines in India are about to carry much lower price tags. The government's drug price regulator has cut retail prices by up to 93.3%, with the new rates taking effect on 9 November, according to two officials and a government document reviewed by Mint.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has reset the maximum retail price (MRP), the most a shop can charge, on 543 versions of 137 cancer drugs that have no government-fixed price ceiling. The biggest drop in rupees is on thiotepa, a chemotherapy injection used before stem cell transplants and to treat bladder cancer. A 100 mg vial of Samtepa goes from Rs.80,071.86 to Rs.7,150.33, a cut of Rs.72,921.53, or 91.1%.

In percentage terms, the shar...