Question : Cancer Drugs Price Regulation

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has regulated the prices of cancer medicines and has any plan to bring in more cancer drugs and high end medical devices under price regulation;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard;

(c) whether the Government has received any request from Tata Memorial Centre to include 12 key cancer medicines in the National List of Essential Medicines; and

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)
(a) & (b): Cancer drugs are included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2011 and their prices are regulated by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The NLEM, 2015 includes 7 more cancer medicines. No decision has been taken to include high end medical devices in the NLEM. Further, the Ministry has, with a view to reduce the cost of treatment of life threatening diseases, launched the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) on 15.11.2015. Through AMRIT, cancer and cardiovascular drugs will be dispensed against authentic prescriptions at substantial discounts on market price.

(c) & (d): The NLEM, 2015 contains a total of 376 drugs including 7 out of the 12 cancer medicines recommended to be included in the NLEM by Tata Memorial Hospital.