anti cancer drug
In view of the shortage of some important medicines used in the treatment of cancer in the country, the Central Government has taken a big step. The government’s drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has increased the maximum price of two major platinum-based cancer drugs, Cisplatin and Carboplatin, by 50 per cent. The purpose of this decision is to ensure the availability of these medicines in the market and to reduce the problems faced by the patients.
Lack of medicines in hospitals becomes a concern
For the last few months, there was a shortage of these anti-cancer medicines in many government and private hospitals of the country. Especially in government hospitals, patients were not getting medicines on time. Cisplatin and carboplatin are used to treat many types of cancer, including ovarian, lung and bladder cancer. In such a situation, their shortage was directly affecting the treatment of patients.
What will be the new prices?
According to the notification issued by NPPA, the maximum price of Cisplatin has been increased from Rs 7.26 per ml to Rs 10.89 per ml. Whereas the price of carboplatin has been increased from Rs 60.49 per ml to Rs 90.74 per ml. These prices will be exclusive of tax.
The government says that this decision has been taken keeping in mind the public interest so that pharmaceutical companies can continue production and there is adequate supply in the market.
The rise in platinum prices became the reason
According to experts, there has been a huge increase in the international prices of platinum used in the manufacturing of these medicines. India is largely dependent on imports for platinum. The cost of raw materials has increased significantly due to reduced supply from major producing countries like South Africa and increasing global demand. Apart from this, the ongoing tension in the Middle East and disruptions in the supply chain have also affected the production cost.
Pharmaceutical companies will get relief
Due to rising costs and controlled prices, it became economically difficult for many pharmaceutical companies to produce these drugs. People associated with the industry say that the new prices will encourage companies to increase production. This will improve the availability of medicines in the market and will provide relief to the patients.
NPPA has clarified that this price revision has been done for the time being one time and it will be reviewed after six months. This will give the government an opportunity to assess what impact the decision has had on the availability of medicines and patients.
