The Indian government has moved to reduce the price of cancer drugs after a retired bank clerk took her case to the supreme court.<\/p>\n
From next month, 137 cancer drugs in India will be cheaper<\/a> as the government tries to tackle the tragedy of poorer patients either forgoing treatment, selling land or falling into debt to meet the high cost of some medicines, which are making large profits for hospitals and pharmacists.<\/p>\n Sarojam Radhakrishnan, a former bank employee in Kerala, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. Doctors prescribed life-saving targeted treatments but the monthly cost, of more than 63,000 rupees (\u00a3500), was far beyond her family\u2019s means.<\/p>\n Realising that thousands of families were being ruined by the cost of such drugs, Radhakrishnan filed a petition to the Kerala high court in 2022 demanding government intervention to lower the costs.<\/p>\n When the case reached the supreme court, the judges looked at hospitals\u2019 and retailers\u2019 mark-ups on cancer drugs and called the situation \u201ccarnage\u201d and \u201cextortion\u201d.<\/p>\n During a hearing on 29 September, justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted how a life-saving cancer drug supplied to hospitals at 2,700 rupees carried a vastly marked-up price of 27,000 rupees<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sarojam Radhakrishan initiated the court action after being unable to pay for her cancer drugs. Photograph: Facebook<\/p>\n The judges found that hospitals, distributors and chemists enjoyed large margins on medicines. Analysis by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority revealed a trade mark-up on some cancer drugs averaging 170%<\/a>, with some extreme examples stretching to more than 700%.<\/p>\n A 30% trade margin cap on the price of 42 drugs<\/a> has been in place for some years but many others remained off this list. Now, prodded by the supreme court\u2019s findings, the government has imposed the cap on 137 other drugs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe measure is expected to reduce medicine prices by up to 70% and help cancer patients save 2,500 crore rupees [\u00a3199m] annually, significantly reducing the amount they pay from their own pockets,\u201d a statement from the Department of Pharmaceuticals said.<\/p>\n People on low incomes in India dread illness, as the cost of treatment can mean financial ruin, particularly for cancer patients.<\/p>\n Whenever the Indian Cancer<\/a> Society holds a free diagnosis camp in Gurgaon where he lives, Krishan Kalra urges local drivers, maids, cooks and tailors to turn up because tests they cannot afford are offered free.<\/p>\n As a former member of the council of the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Kalra knows the importance of early diagnosis, but he said very few people attended. \u201cWhen I ask why, they say they\u2019re too scared \u2013 if something serious like cancer is detected, they haven\u2019t got the money to pay for the treatment so they prefer to remain in the dark,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n With the cost of cancer drugs ranging in price from 38,000 to 380,000 rupees, many families quietly walk out of the doctor\u2019s consulting room upon hearing the estimated cost of treatment.<\/p>\n