While input costs have been on the rise, the situation has worsened because of the war in West Asia, an industry representative said | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Centre has given its approval for a price increase on chemotherapy drugs Cisplatin and Carboplatin, a ministry source said, even as shortages are being reported in hospitals over the last several weeks.

Companies have been making their representations, and the Department of Pharmaceuticals has given its in-principle approval, and a notification on this is expected soon from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the source confirmed. Both drugs are under price control and are on the National List of Essential Medicines.

Cisplatin and carboplatin are the “back-bone of chemotherapy”, said Shyam Aggarwal, Chairman, Department of Medical Oncology with Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Hospitals continue to face a shortage and patients are being told to source the drugs themselves, Aggarwal told businessline. He had publicly flagged the shortage days ago, saying that these drugs commonly used in treating cancers including oral, ovary, lung, breast and many more — were in short supply.

The shortage is being critically felt for about three weeks, he said, and patients were being impacted, as they turn-up for their chemotherapy cycle, only to know the hospital does not have supplies of the drug, he said. “I become helpless and anxious when I see a patient who requires platinum. And you tell them the hospital doesn’t have it, kindly get your own,” Aggarwal said. While patients are impacted, doctors too are “suffering”, he said, as in a medico-legal world, the doctor is blamed, not the pharmaceutical company, he added.

The medicine costs about ₹2,000- ₹3,000 a month, he said, and companies claim their final retail price did not reflect the increase in raw material costs. Industry-insiders point out that companies including Cipla, Mylan, Fresenius Kabi, Pfizer,Hetero and Alkem, for example make these products. While input costs have been on the rise, the situation has worsened because of the war in West Asia, an industry representative said.

Published on June 10, 2026