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The national drug pricing regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has reduced the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of nine non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines by 30-60 per cent with immediate effect.
Drugs which have undergone price cut include Erlotinab, Pemetrexed, Epirubician, Leuprolide acetate and Everolimus meant for treatment of various types of cancers, including breast and prostrate.
In March this year, NPPA had brought down the prices of about 380 drugs, some of the cuts going up to 80-90 per cent under trade margin rationalisation.
According to data from India Against Cancer, around 2.25 million people are living with the disease. Every year, over 11.50 lakh new cancer patients are registered.
A new study recently revealed that availability of essential drugs for treatment of childhood cancers was well below the World Health Organisation (WHO)-prescribed standards in both public and private sector pharmacies even in the national capital, Delhi.
The study has been published in journal BMJ Global Health. The study team included researchers from The George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Cankids India, Max Super Speciality Hospital and Boston University School of Public Health.
The survey looked into availability of 33 essential anti-cancer medicines in four public and three private hospitals as well as 32 private retail pharmacies. It was found that their mean availability was a mere 70 per cent as against the WHO’s norm of at least 80 per cent.
The situation was, however, somewhat better in private hospitals over public hospitals and private retail pharmacies. Private hospitals recorded availability of 71 per cent, while public hospitals reported 43 per cent and retail pharmacies 38 per cent.
The study has also found problem with prices of drugs. Medicine prices were relatively low in Delhi compared with international reference prices. However, even at a lower price the medicines were unaffordable for a vast section of society. The lowest cost of chemotherapy for treating a 30 kg child with standard risk leukaemia was Rs. 27,850 and for a child with early stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma was Rs. 17,500.
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