Regulator, cos discuss price hike for some cancer drugs

New Delhi | Mumbai: The country's drug pricing watchdog may approve a price increase for formulations of platinum-based cancer drugs such as carboplatin, cisplatin and oxaliplatin, people familiar with the matter told ET.

Platinum-based drugs are used to treat various types of cancer, including head and neck, breast, and gastrointestinal cancers.

In this regard, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) held a meeting on June 4 with representatives from leading drug makers, including Pfizer, Fresenius, Zydus Lifesciences and Hetero. The people cited earlier said that senior executives from cancer hospitals, including Tata Memorial, also attended the meeting.

ET had reported in April about the looming possibility of disruption in production and shortage of such medicines due to the sharp increase in raw material prices.

The industry had sought a 50% increase in the prices of the three drugs. The ceiling price for carboplatin is currently ₹61.10 per 10 mg/ml vial. For cisplatin, it ranges from ₹70 to ₹300 per vial, based on the drug strength.

Following the report, the NPPA had directed the leading manufacturers of the drugs to furnish additional data, including the price escalation in raw materials over the last five years, duly certified by auditors.

Sources said the industry informed the government that raw material costs have shot up by more than 100% in the last six months.

They said there is no visibility on procurement and availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), as the final cost of medicines has not been increased by the NPPA, though the industry has been raising the issue since February. For instance, the price of carboplatin 10mg/ml in 2016 was ₹49.38, and the same in April 2026 was ₹60.48.

The industry has now requested the government for a 75-100% increase in the prices of the drugs.

“There is a 22% increase in ceiling prices over the last ten years against a 225% increase in the cost of the core component of the API in the same period, which is the platinum metal,” a person aware of the development told ET.

“While these price caps are vital for keeping healthcare accessible, they are currently creating an unintended bottleneck. Because the retail price of the finished medicine is locked by the state, the sudden increase in the cost of raw platinum has made it financially unviable for domestic pharmaceutical companies to continue production,” said Mohan Menon, medical oncologist, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai.

He alleged that the ongoing scarcity has forced oncologists across India to alter standard practice patterns, delay therapy cycles, or navigate complex drug substitutions just to keep patients alive.

“This has thus become a matter of national urgency, and all relevant stakeholders need to come together to establish an emergency pricing intervention,” said Menon.

According to him, there is an urgent need to restart the production process and stabilise the domestic supply chain. “Failure to do so will leave cancer patients (who are already rather vulnerable) exposed to forces beyond their control,” he said.