Parliament Question: Non-inclusion of cancer medication under price control

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 341 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3rd FEBRUARY, 2026 Non-inclusion of cancer medication under price control 341 Smt. Sagarika Ghose: Will the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers be pleased to state: (a) whether a significant number of oncology medicines remain outside the ambit of price control under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO-2013), if so, the reasons for such non‑inclusion; (b) the list of anti‑cancer medicines not presently covered under DPCO‑2013, along with for each such medicine: brand/generic name, dosage form/strength, primary manufacturer(s), marketing authorization holder(s) and patent status including patent number, assignee/patent‑holder and expiry date; and (c) whether the Ministry will place in the public domain a roadmap for phased inclusion of such medication under DPCO‑2013 and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL) (a) to (c): The prices of drugs including oncology drugs are regulated as per the provisions of Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013). Ministry of Health and Family Welfare publishes the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) which is incorporated as Schedule- I of DPCO, 2013 by Department of Pharmaceuticals. The medicines under Schedule-I are mentioned according to their therapeutic category. Anti-cancer formulations are listed in the Schedule-I of DPCO, 2013 under the Section-7 “Anti-cancer agents including Immunosuppressives and Medicines used in Palliative Care”. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed the ceiling prices of 131 anti-cancer scheduled formulations as listed in Schedule-I. All manufacturers of scheduled medicines (branded or generic) have to sell their products within the ceiling price (plus applicable Goods and Service Tax) fixed by the NPPA. NPPA also fixes retail price of ‘new drug’ as defined under para 2(1)(u) of DPCO, 2013 As on 27.01.2026, NPPA has fixed the retail price of 54 drugs under the Anti-Cancer therapeutic category. Further, in case of non-scheduled formulations, their prices are monitored and manufacturer of such formulations are required to not increase the maximum retail price of that formulation by more than 10% of the maximum retail prices during the preceding 12 months. Accordingly, prices of all oncology medicines are covered under DPCO, 2013 either by way of price control by fixation of ceiling / retail price or by regulating the increase of price under para 20 of DPCO, 2013. *****