Essential Therapies Stay in Lakhs as Centre Enforces Nov 9 Price and Import Norms
In a crucial regulatory update for healthcare providers and oncology patients across the country, the revised maximum retail price (MRP) schedule for non-scheduled anti-cancer medications—scheduled to officially come into force from November 9, 2026—has maintained existing price ceilings across essential targeted therapies, chemotherapy formulations, and advanced biologics. The notification confirms that pricing for high-demand, patented specialty drugs prescribed for lung cancer, breast cancer, hematological malignancies, and bone marrow disorders remains unchanged, keeping the cost of essential therapies in the multi-lakh bracket per dosage cycle. With cancer care requiring sustained, multi-cycle regimens spanning several months or years, the static price index underscores the continuing financial burden on families navigating specialized cancer care, prompting calls for expanded institutional coverage and public healthcare subsidies across premier state and central medical institutions.
Patented Oncology Therapies: Why Alecensa, Keytruda, Tagrisso, and Phesgo Remain in the Lakhs
The latest price schedule leaves the acquisition costs of frontline targeted therapies untouched, maintaining significant treatment expenses for advanced clinical regimens across Indian hospitals. Under the notified schedule, targeted kinase inhibitor Alecensa (alectinib 150 mg), widely prescribed for specific forms of non-small cell lung cancer, remains priced at ₹4,30,696, while advanced immunotherapy injection Keytruda (pembrolizumab 100 mg), utilized extensively across varied solid tumors and melanoma, holds steady at an MRP of ₹2,16,500. Similarly, the targeted oral tablet Tagrisso (osimertinib 80 mg) used for advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer remains set at ₹1,38,830.83, and the fixed-dose biologic combination injection Phesgo (pertuzumab and trastuzumab 1200 mg) for HER2-positive breast cancer remains at ₹4,93,266. Because these therapeutic interventions encompass complex bio-engineered monoclonal antibodies and synthetic precision molecules administered via intravenous infusions or specialized oral capsules, the persistence of multi-lakh MRPs keeps out-of-pocket healthcare expenses elevated for patients undergoing long-term maintenance protocols.
Union Health Ministry Restricts Short-Dated Imports: Strict Shelf-Life Mandates for Biologics
Concurrently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has implemented a stringent regulatory safeguard prohibiting the import of pharmaceutical consignments that have a remaining shelf life of less than one calendar year at the time of customs entry. Under the ministry's gazetted notification, statutory port licensing authorities are strictly instructed to turn back any drug shipments with expiry dates falling within the 12-month threshold on the import date, thereby eliminating the risk of near-expiry stocks flooding domestic supply chains. Acknowledging the delicate molecular stability and shorter natural durability of advanced biotechnology products, the government has instituted a tailored provision for biological formulations and radiopharmaceuticals, permitting entry if consignments retain at least 60 percent of their labeled shelf life upon arrival. This dual-pronged policy approach seeks to maintain therapeutic efficacy and patient safety across hospitals while regulating commercial inventory flows within India’s oncology and specialty pharmaceutical sectors.
