Drugs for cancer, rare diseases to get affordable after GST roll-out

Regulator takes pre-emptive action for 761 essential medicines

The goods and services tax (GST) is unlikely to be a very bitter pill for the pharmaceutical industry, which feared a substantial rise in drug prices under the new indirect tax regime. While around 80 per cent drugs were put in the 12 per cent GST bracket (up from the current 9 per cent slab), implying a sharp rise in prices, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has stepped in to keep medicines affordable after the GST roll-out on July 1. 

The pharma pricing regulator has notified the revised ceiling prices of 761 drugs which are part of the Schedule