There has been "significant price reduction" in major cancer and diabetic drugs over the past year as a measure of relief to patients in the country, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said on Monday.

The drug prices regulator, in a tweet, said that since March 2016, there has been "significant price reduction" by up to 86 per cent in some major cancer drugs, and by up to 42 per cent in major diabetic drugs. Among the major cancer drugs, the price of Iressa of Astrazeneca Pharma India, which cost Rs 29,259 (before revision), has been cut down by 86 per cent to Rs 3,977. The prices of other important cancer drugs, such as Nanoxel (Rs 1,035) and Frastim (Rs 1,273) have been slashed by 55 per cent and 51 per cent respectively. In terms of diabetic drugs, Glypride by Sun Pharmaceuticals has been priced at Rs 53 - down 42 per cent from Rs 91.

As per the NPPA, other pharma firms whose drug prices have been revised downwards are Dr Reddy's Lab, Abbot Healthcare, Micro Labs, Dabur India, Lupin and others.