Biocon Biologics’ share of India’s trastuzumab and bevacizumab markets will increase at the cost of Roche.

The Supreme Court’s September 22 criticism of excessive cancer-drug prices increases pressure on the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to expand limits on the margins charged on patented cancer medicines. Roche’s Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab) are among the most likely early targets because both drugs have faced price disputes in India and already compete with established domestic generic alternatives, CANMAb and Abevmy from Biocon. As margin caps squeeze profits, foreign suppliers will struggle to match the production scale of domestic generic manufacturers. Better able to sustain high volumes at lower margins, domestic generics producers are therefore positioned to gain market share. Roche therefore faces the most immediate exposure, while AstraZeneca, Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb face less risk because their leading patented cancer drugs do not yet have established Indian biosimilar competitors.