Novartis Healthcare: Lists MRPs for 14 anti-cancer formulations

Novartis Healthcare Private Limited has published a list of maximum retail prices for 14 non-scheduled anti-cancer formulations, citing the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s order dated 17 October 2026. The company document provides product-level pricing details ahead of the 9 November 2026 implementation date reported by DD News for the wider anti-cancer drug pricing measure.

The Novartis list identifies the order as S.O. 5690(E) and names each product’s brand, strength, dosage form, drug molecule and pack size. The company states that all listed maximum retail prices, or MRPs, include applicable taxes, as printed on the product packs.

The document does not provide previous prices. It therefore establishes the company’s listed MRPs, but not the reduction in rupees or percentage terms for each product. It also does not itself state an effective date; the implementation timetable comes from DD News’s reporting on the NPPA measure.

DD News reported on 18 October 2026 that NPPA had capped trade margins on 137 identified non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent of MRP. According to the broadcaster, the measure was expected to reduce MRPs by up to 70 per cent, depending on existing price structures. That forecast is not evidence of the saving on any particular Novartis pack.

The company document adds product-specific detail to the intervention previously covered in Digital Pradesh’s report on the NPPA trade-margin cap for 137 anti-cancer drugs.

Products, strengths and pack prices

Novartis lists four strengths of Jakavi, its ruxolitinib tablets: 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg and 20 mg, each in a pack size of 1×10. The company gives an MRP of Rs 51,900 for the 15 mg pack and Rs 54,600 for the 20 mg pack.

Tasigna, containing nilotinib, appears in two capsule strengths. The company lists the 150 mg strength at Rs 9,230 and the 200 mg strength at Rs 9,340, both for a pack size of 1×4.

For Rahika, containing capmatinib, Novartis specifies packs of 5×12 tablets. The listed MRP is Rs 74,695 for the 150 mg strength and Rs 77,273 for the 200 mg strength.

The document also covers Kryxana, containing ribociclib, in a 1×21 pack of 200 mg tablets, and Kyzific, containing asciminib, in a 1×60 pack of 40 mg tablets.

Afinitor, containing everolimus, appears in 5 mg and 10 mg tablet strengths, both in packs of 1×10. The remaining products are Tykerb, containing lapatinib, in a 1×30 pack of 250 mg tablets, and Tauritmo, containing midostaurin, in a 1×4 pack of 25 mg capsules.

The distinction between strength and pack size is essential to reading the document: each price belongs to the specified formulation and pack, rather than to the brand as a whole. The listed amounts are pack prices, not per-tablet or per-capsule charges.

The Novartis document does not specify treatment duration or the number of packs required for a patient. Its figures consequently do not establish the cost of a course of treatment.

Scope of the trade-margin intervention

Trade margins are the amounts added through distribution and retail channels. DD News reported that NPPA’s intervention sought to curb excessive margins while safeguarding legitimate manufacturer revenues and preventing artificial shortages.

According to the broadcaster, NPPA imposed the cap under Paragraph 19 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. The measure covers identified non-scheduled anti-cancer formulations; the Novartis document describes its listed products as applicable formulations covered by that order.

DD News reported that an expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services recommended the expanded list. Its members included oncologists, medical specialists, hospital experts and government officials. The broadcaster said the list would be updated periodically.

The wider intervention includes pembrolizumab, durvalumab and osimertinib, according to DD News. Its report also names denosumab, pegfilgrastim and bevacizumab. These medicines describe part of the broader measure’s scope; the Novartis document is a company-specific list, not the complete list of drugs covered by NPPA.

DD News traced the measure to NPPA’s 2019 pilot trade-margin rationalisation exercise, which capped margins on 42 anti-cancer drugs at 30 per cent. The broadcaster reported that the earlier exercise reduced MRPs for 526 brands of non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines by up to 90 per cent. Those historical reductions are distinct from the expected effects of the October 2026 notification.

Requirements for manufacturers and hospitals

Manufacturers were required to inform NPPA of revised prices within seven days of publication of the notification, according to DD News. The report said they must also publish price lists on their websites and circulate them widely to retailers and hospitals.

From 9 November, retailers and hospitals must charge the reduced prices and display the revised lists in their pharmacies, DD News reported. Hospitals must also publish the prices prominently on their websites.

The broadcaster said a substantial share of anti-cancer medicines is supplied directly to hospitals and medical institutions, giving those facilities responsibility for implementing the revised prices. It identified the Pharma Sahi Daam app and NPPA’s website as channels through which consumers could check revised medicine prices.

State Drug Controllers will oversee compliance by manufacturers, dealers, retailers, hospitals and medical institutions, according to DD News. The report also said pharmaceutical companies must maintain production and supply levels of the notified formulations to ensure uninterrupted availability.