Cancer Drugs: 1,000% Markups, Price Cuts & the Hospital Profit Puzzle

A cancer patient in Kerala spent ₹30–35 lakh on treatment before an infection disrupted her therapy and a drug assistance programme lapsed. Her family was left confronting an unthinkable question: should they sell a kidney to afford cancer medicines?India, the pharmacy of the world, is grappling with an extraordinary contradiction. The government has capped trade margins on hundreds of cancer medicines at 30%, bringing reductions of up to 91% in some cases. Yet nearly one in four medicine packs has seen no price cut, including several expensive patented treatments.In this episode of The Morning Brief Decode, Anirban Chowdhury speaks to The Economic Times Pharma Editor Vikas Dandekar about the economics of cancer drugs.Why can a medicine supplied to a hospital for ₹2,700 carry a price tag of ₹27,000? Who determines these prices? Why have earlier government interventions delivered limited relief? And who ensures hospitals pass the savings on to patients?They also examine the Supreme Court's scrutiny of drug pricing, the limits of patient assistance programmes and the difficult balance between affordable treatment and access to innovative medicines.At stake is a fundamental question: should lifesaving treatment depend on a patient's ability to pay?