The Government’s decision to exempt customs duty on imported cancer drugs – Trastuzumab, Osimertinib and Durvalumab ­– follows an earlier decision to reduce GST rates and is bound to bring smiles on face of low income families who put everything on stake to save their near and dear ones.

Alongside the customs cut, the Government this week also directed domestic manufacturers reduce the MRP on these drugs. The manufacturers will be required to issue a price list, or supplementary price list to the dealers, state drugs controllers and the Government.

The list will indicate changes and information regarding price change to National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) that regulates the prices of drugs and ensures availability, accessibility and affordability to all.

Commonly used for HER2-positive breast cancer, Trastuzumab can cost between Rs.60,000 and Rs.75,000 per dose in India. The patient typically might need 12 to 18 doses in a year. So the total yearly cost can range from Rs.7 to Rs.13 lakh.

Osimertinib drug is used in non-small cell lung cancer and costs around Rs. 2.5 to Rs.3 lakh per month. Depending on the recommended dose and frequency, the annual expenses can go up to Rs.30 to Rs.36 lakh.

Durvalumab is prescribed primarily in advanced non-small cell lung cancer, Durvalumab dose costs about Rs.1.5 to Rs.2 lakh per infusion and the average treatment schedule requires Rs. 25 to Rs.30 lakh per year.

Cancer is one of those diseases that can devastate homes in more than one way. Expenditure on drugs can guzzle life-time savings overnight and outstrip all means of income. Instances of people selling even their homes are not unheard of. Scientists, researchers, pharmacologists, alternative medicines experts are locked in uphill struggle to find affordable cures, advance detection techniques, and nipping the disease in the bud. Cancers like pancreatic cancers do not even need a genetic reason, just a gene copying error is enough. And it remains undetected till the chances of survival are less than 10 per cent. Watch John Hopkins video here.

In India, even after so many schemes, less than 20% of the population has health insurance, which usually does not fully cover high cost, extended cancer treatments. The advanced cancer treatments are accessible primarily to the upper-income and a few middle-income households, often requiring significant loans or crowdfunding efforts.

Treatments with targeted drugs can last from several months to a several years, especially in cases where cancer becomes chronic or recurs. For example, HER2-positive breast cancer patients may need continued Trastuzumab doses for one year or more, with potential additional drugs like Pertuzumab, which further increase costs. In advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer, targeted therapies like Osimertinib are used continuously for as long as they are effective, which means indefinite monthly treatments.

The combination of high costs and long-term treatment requirements makes advanced cancer treatment in India largely unaffordable for the average patient. For those without insurance, the financial burden is overwhelming, highlighting the urgent need for better health policy support, including subsidies and broader insurance coverage. And this all, is besides the costs on mental and emotional health of patients as well as their families.