Doctors call for a price cut in chemotherapy drugs widely used in treatment
Telegraph | 5 February 2025
Cancer drugs whose price reduction was announced in the Union budget are used in a minority of cases while many other chemotherapy drugs used more commonly still remain expensive, doctors said at a cancer awareness meet on Tuesday.
They called for a price cut in chemotherapy drugs that are widely used in treatment.
The Centre on Saturday announced the exemption of basic customs duty (BCD) on 36 “lifesaving” medicines, which include some cancer drugs. The 36 medicines to be exempted from BCD include, Alectinib, Amivantamab and Tepotinib, each used in the treatment of lung cancer, and Obinutuzumab, used to treat a type of leukaemia.
Sourav Datta, senior consultant and director, Medica Oncology, which had organised the awareness programme, said 11 of the 36 drugs whose prices were cut are cancer drugs.
“But these are used in immunotherapy or targeted therapy. They are used in a minority of cases compared to total cancer patients undergoing treatment. Whereas drugs used for a larger number of people are still expensive,” he said.
Datta said doctors often give patients options for chemotherapy drugs but many patients choose the less costly ones because they cannot afford the high-end drugs.
Sudeep Das, a medical oncologist at Medica who administers chemotherapy, agreed with Datta.
He said most of the drugs whose customs duty has been exempted are used in targeted therapy after determining the specific genetic reason causing the cancer.
“They have their own benefits. They are products of more advanced research and they have made treatment more personalised. But they are also very costly because these are imported drugs with patents and no Indian companies can manufacture them,” Das said.
“There are more commonly used drugs, like Paclitaxel, Docetaxel and Gemcitabine. The cost of one chemotherapy cycle of one such drug is still between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000.”
Das said cancer patients in advanced stages have to undergo two cycles of chemotherapy each month, which can continue for several months.
“For a very large number of people it is very difficult to go on paying ₹20,000 a month for several months. There is a need to cut down the prices of these drugs, too,” he said.
Doctors said cancer can result in other infections and treating them adds to the burden.
Families from the districts outside Calcutta have to come and stay with the patient who can become very weak during chemotherapy. Accommodation for family members adds to the cost as well. “Reduction of drug prices can offset some of the burden,” said a doctor.
Baishali Bhattacharjee, a cancer survivor, said each cycle of her chemotherapy cost ₹80,000 in 2021. “It was very costly. Reduction in drug prices by a bigger margin will help patients,” she said.
Gautam Mukhopadhyay, clinical lead of surgical oncology at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, said hospital charges and transport charges can be cut down to make cancer treatment affordable to more people.
“We have to explore how cancer treatment can be made more affordable to people. Hospital charges, bed charges, transportation charges add to the cost of the treatment. We must explore if there is scope to cut down these charges,” said Mukhopadhyay.
Tanmoy Kumar Mondal, a medical and hemato oncologist with Manipal Hospitals, Dhakuria, said the government should force drug manufacturers to keep a lower maximum retail price for more conventionally used cancer drugs so patients get the drugs at a lower price.
“If a lower MRP is fixed, the hospitals, too, will charge a lower price from patients. The government should do this.”
The National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020, released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, estimated 13.9 lakh cancer cases in India in 2020. Based on trends, it projected that the number would rise to 15.7 lakh by 2025.
“Cancer of lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus were the most common among men. Cancer of breast and cervix uteri were the most common among women,” the ICMR had said in 2020 in a press release.
It noted “a significant increase in the incidence rates of breast cancers in women, and lung and head & neck cancers in both men and women” and a “declining trend” in cancer of the cervix.