00:00Okay, let's turn away from the politics to something positive.
00:04The government, the central government, has reduced the prices formally now of 543 anti-cancer drug brands.
00:12The revised rates will come into effect from the 9th of November.
00:16The Supreme Court is now examining whether trade margin should also be capped for other essential medicines too.
00:22The Karnataka government, for example, is pushing for greater transparency in drug prices.
00:27Could this be a game changer for lakhs of patients across the country?
00:32We'll discuss that, but first take a look at this report.
00:39The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority revises the maximum retail price of 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines after capping trade
00:48margins at 30%.
00:50Generic and biosimilar cancer drugs have seen up to 93% price cuts.
00:55But no price cuts in 65 high-cost cancer drugs.
00:59The new prices will take effect from November 9th.
01:02Even as central government decided to cap the trade margin at 30% on cancer drugs,
01:07the Supreme Court is considering if it should be done for other essential drugs as well.
01:14During a hearing on Tuesday, a two-judge bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta asked the government
01:21why a medicine sold to retailers for 10 to 20 rupees carries an MRP of 100 rupees.
01:28The court, which had taken up the matter of drug pricing in July after a woman who had filed a
01:33petition in Kerala High Court,
01:34died of cancer, has reserved its order.
01:37The issue of excessive mark-ups in the pharmaceutical supply chain was also raised by Karnataka Health Minister Uti Khadir.
01:45The minister says the problem extends beyond oncology.
02:08The Karnataka government recently issued a circular to all health care institutions
02:13to ensure that both the purchase cost and the maximum retail price of medicines are mentioned in bills issued to
02:21patients.
02:22The advisory comes into effect on November 1st.
02:25While patients and public health advocates have long raised concerns about medicine affordability,
02:31the health care industry also argues that drug pricing also involves a complex supply chain.
02:39The private hospitals have their own pharmacy, which they maintain, especially in oncology and other,
02:47which are extremely costly drugs.
02:49From the manufacturer to the pharmacy, a strong cold chain to be maintained, quality control to be maintained.
02:56Majority of these drugs, cancer drugs, are very expensive.
02:59Those drugs which are imported from the other countries, they are very expensive, like immunotherapy, targeted therapy.
03:08So they are very expensive.
03:10If they make available, manufacture in India, then you can reduce the rate prices.
03:1530% price cap on cancer drugs may bring in relief to thousands and lakhs of patients across the country.
03:21While the Karnataka government wants this to be extended to other life-saving drugs,
03:26the Supreme Court also has questioned why should this not be implemented for other drugs too.
03:31Is this the beginning of a wider crackdown on exorbitant life-saving drugs?
03:36Nagar Jundwar Kanath for India Today.
