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Why does a cancer injection bought by a hospital for ₹11,000 end up costing a patient ₹1.3 lakh? India’s drug pricing system is under scrutiny as the government caps trade margins on hundreds of cancer medicines at 30%. While prices of several drugs have fallen sharply, nearly one in four packs has seen no reduction. And a 30% margin still allows a markup of nearly 43% over the manufacturer’s price. So who profits from expensive medicines? Why have previous interventions failed? And will the latest price cuts actually bring relief to patients? Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET's pharma editor Vikas Dandekar. Listen in:

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded,Can India Truly End Naxalism?, Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks  and much more.

 

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

Why does a cancer injection bought by a hospital for ₹11,000 end up costing a patient ₹1.3 lakh? India&rsquo;s drug pricing system is under scrutiny as the government caps trade margins on hundreds of cancer medicines at 30%. While prices of several drugs have fallen sharply, nearly one in four packs has seen no reduction. And a 30% margin still allows a markup of nearly 43% over the manufacturer&rsquo;s price. So who profits from expensive medicines? Why have previous interventions failed? And will the latest price cuts actually bring relief to patients? Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET's pharma editor Vikas Dandekar. Listen in: You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:<a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET"> X</a> and<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/"> Linkedin </a>Check out other interesting episodes like:<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000742733036"> How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000740924439"> How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000760362789">Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536"> </a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000757611462">Can India Truly End Naxalism?</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000756051799">Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma&rsquo;s Moat Breaks</a>&nbsp; and<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> much more</a>.
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Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr"> The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_"> JioSaavn</a>,<a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief"> Amazon Music</a> and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts"> Youtube</a>.

To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.