ACB, Food Safety and Drug Control teams inspect NIMS amid corruption allegations

Health

30% in 2019, cancer drug margins at 700% now

Anti-cancer drugs show mark-ups of up to 700% despite NPPA's 2019 price curbs, raising questions over one-time price cuts A look at the mark-up on some of the drugs on which National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) put a trade margin cap of 30% on selling price in Feb 2019 shows that a majority had mark-ups of 100%-700% in the Authority's 2026 list. Citing this data, the All-India Drug Action Network, which works on access to affordable medicines, pointed out the futility of one-time MRP reduction as a policy measure in the absence of a mandate to maintain permanent margin caps along with consistent monitoring.Of the 137 anti-cancer drugs that NPPA listed for reduction of trade margin, 34 are from the 2019 NPPA list of 42 anti-cancer drugs. However, the recent list put out by NPPA, showing steep reduction in MRP, reveals that most drugs from the 2019 list that feature in the 2026 list have breached the 43% mark-up level. This level is equivalent to a 30% trade margin because while the margin is calculated as a percentage of the final MRP, the mark-up is a percentage of the price to the stockist. Evidence shows 1-time caps give limited relief: Activist group The mark-up in 2026 prior to the latest order was higher than it was even before the 2019 order and hence the percentage reduction in prices too is much higher in most cases now compared to seven years back. However, in the case of drugs which saw very steep reduction in MRP in 2019, the percentage reduction is lower in 2026. For example, the MRP of a brand of an anti-cancer drug Pemetrexed fell from Rs 7,000 to Rs 800 in 2019. In the latest MRP reduction, it has fallen from Rs 1,095 to Rs 297, a more modest reduction than in 2019. Many multinationals which reduced the MRP by significant amounts in 2019 have done little or no reduction this time and some originator companies - those that held the patent for the medicine originally - did not slash the MRP by much on either occasion. Join conversation View All Comments → Share your thoughts in the comments Insightful Agree Disagree Skeptical Concerning Promising Worth Reading Big Development Post Comment Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Only five brands from the 2019 list had a mark-up of 43% prior to the latest order, another four had mark-ups ranging from 43% to 100%. The mark-up on the remaining 39 ranged from 100% to over 700%."NPPA is calling it trade margin capping, as they did in 2019 also. That's misleading because it is not a cap. It is just a one-time reduction of MRP by restriction of the mark-up," said Malini Aisola of AIDAN adding that this would not be enough to prevent mark-ups rising again as happened after 2019.

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Japan’s Omron Healthcare opens first India manufacturing facility near Chennai

You don’t have any Active Subscription. Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Your active subscription(s) Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription Products you've access to Additional Subscription Benefits Need help with your subscription? Published - October 31, 2026 01:09 am IST - CHENNAI Japan’s Omron Healthcare on Friday formally inaugurated its first India production facility in Gummidipoondi near Chennai. The new unit, spread over an area of 258,333 square feet at Origins by Mahindra industrial estate in Puduvoyal, has been built within three years of the Japanese firm signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government in 2023. Designed to produce about 300,000 blood pressure monitors annually, the company plans to increase its production capacity tenfold to make 30 lakh units annually in the next two years. Omron will manufacture three models of blood pressure monitors at the new facility. The firm is also looking at exporting blood pressure monitors manufactured at the new factory to the European market by next year. “We plan to make Chennai a base not just for the Indian market but also develop it as a base for exports,” Ayumu Okada, president and CEO, Omron Healthcare Company Limited, said. Muneo Takahashi, Consul General of Japan in Chennai said: “Tamil Nadu has become an important destination for Japanese investment, supported by its strong industrial base, skilled human resources and excellent infrastructure.” Deepak Jacob, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guidance said: “In 1972, Omron‘s founder joined hands with Dr. Yutaka Nakamura — a doctor known as the father of Japan’s Paralympic movement — to open Omron Taiyo in Beppu. It was Japan’s first welfare factory run and staffed by people with disabilities. People called it “the factory with wheelchairs.” And a second such factory followed in Kyoto in 1985.” Omron‘s commitment to employing persons with disabilities in this plant (Chennai) reflects exactly that value. It will inspire industries across our State to see ability first, he added. Approximately 300 million people nationwide are estimated to be living with hypertension, while the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart failure among the country’s leading causes of death. As India’s economy continues to grow at approximately 7% annually, lifestyle changes mean that the prevalence of hypertension is expected to rise further, adding to such challenges and increasing the need for preventive healthcare. Yet fewer than 5% of households have a home blood pressure monitor in regular use, while access to healthcare services also remains limited in many regions. By strengthening the domestic supply of blood pressure monitors, Omron Healthcare aims to support more widespread home monitoring, earlier identification of cardiovascular risks, and improved hypertension management, the company said. Published - October 31, 2026 01:09 am IST Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

The Hindu·9 hours ago·3 min read

ACB, Food Safety and Drug Control teams inspect NIMS amid corruption allegations

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30% in 2019, cancer drug margins at 700% now

Port Sudan families can barely afford water as shortages persist

Japan’s Omron Healthcare opens first India manufacturing facility near Chennai