India may raise price caps on cisplatin, carboplatin amid shortages
India may raise price caps (possibly by 50% or more) on two major chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin.
Why? Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital have been warning about serious shortages as the cost of raw materials keeps climbing, and the government wants to make sure patients can still get these life-saving treatments.
Government committee recommends 4 price revisions
The Department of Pharmaceuticals gave in-principle approval to invoke a pricing provision for these drugs, and a committee recommended price revisions for four formulations after a big jump in ingredient costs.
Out of 82 requests from drugmakers, only these four were recommended for price revision because Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital warned about alarming shortages, with the committee citing significant API-cost increases and availability concerns.
The aim: keep essential medicines available when demand is rising fast.