In the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a significant move for cancer patients.
In Budget 2024, she has eliminated the customs duty on imported cancer medicines.
Previously, a 10 percent duty was imposed on these three medicines, but it has now been completely removed.
This change is expected to save cancer patients approximately 40,000 rupees each month.
These three cancer medicines are crucial for saving lives.
Dr. Ajay Gogia, Additional Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, IRCH, explains which cancer medicines have become more affordable and how much relief patients can expect from these changes.
1. Trastuzumab deruxtecan
This drug, known as Herceptin, is used to treat all types of positive breast cancer. It acts as an antibody treatment when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Additionally, it is being researched for potential use in treating gastric cancer.
Cancer patients typically need to take this medicine every three weeks. Each dose requires 3 vials, making the cost up to Rs 4 lakh.
2. Osimertiniv
This drug is used as targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer, particularly against cancers resistant to multiple generations of EGFR inhibitors.
Patients need to take this drug daily, with a monthly cost of around Rs 1.5 lakh.
3. Durbalumav
This immunotherapy drug activates the immune system by blocking the PD-L1 protein.
It is particularly used for treating non-small cell lung cancer and bladder cancer when initial treatments have failed.
The patient needs to take this medicine every 3 weeks, or about 21 days.
he estimated cost of one dose is around Rs 2.5 lakh.
New cost after Budget Relief
Dr. Ajay Gogia notes that imported cancer medicines are already very expensive, even though they are now available in India.
Despite this, the cost remains so high that regular use of these life-saving drugs is very costly for patients.
It is estimated that only about 5 percent of patients can afford these medicines, while the rest use alternative treatments.
With the 10% customs duty removed from these medicines in the budget, their prices will drop by about 10%.
Therefore, a medicine that previously cost Rs 4 lakh per month will now cost around Rs 3.5 lakh.
This reduction will save patients about Rs 40-50 thousand each month, though the medicines will still be expensive for them.
Cheaper options are also available
Dr. Gogia says that while these three cancer medicines are costly, there are more affordable alternatives available in India. For patients who cannot afford these expensive medicines, cheaper alternatives are available.
While these alternatives may not be as effective, they are provided because they are more affordable.
