Major cancer drugs could become cheaper as India considers import duty waiver

India will likely slash the prices of medicines used to treat critical conditions like HIV Aids and cancer as a government panel has recommended waiving off some customs duties on high-impact drugs.

News18 has accessed a document of the proposed cuts in prices that are expected to provide relief to patients with cancer and other chronic diseases. The central government has constituted an interdepartmental committee that has suggested customs duty exemptions and concessions for high-impact medical imports.

Established in August 2024 by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the panel is headed by Joint Drug Controller R. Chandrashekar and includes representatives from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Department of Pharmaceuticals, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Its goal is to make life-saving treatments, such as those for cancer, rare diseases, organ transplants, and advanced diagnostics, much more affordable for Indian patients.

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Which drugs will get cheaper?

The documents show that blockbuster cancer drugs like pembrolizumab (brand Keytruda), osimertinib (brand Tagrisso), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (brand Enhertu), used to treat lung and breast cancer, will be fully exempted from customs duty.

These medicines often cost up to lakhs per dose and have remained inaccessible to patients due to the high import burden.

Apart from cancer drugs, the committee has also proposed making several other medicines cheaper, including transplant drugs, critical care medicines, and advanced diagnostic kits that are slapped with heavy import duties and have no equivalent in the Indian market.

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A second category of essential but widely available drugs has been proposed for a reduced import duty of 5 per cent. This list includes hydroxyurea, used to treat cancer and sickle cell anaemia, and low molecular weight heparin, marketed as Enoxaparin, which is commonly used to prevent and treat blood clots and deep vein thrombosis.

Therapies also included

Along with life-saving drugs, the document also mentions price cuts for medical therapies to treat rare diseases. Customs duty exemptions might be applied on  a group of therapies used to treat conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy, cystic fibrosis, Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, lysosomal storage disorders, and hereditary enzyme deficiencies.

Many of these therapies, such as gene-based and enzyme replacement treatments, rank among the most expensive drugs globally, with single courses costing several crores. Notable rare disease drugs on the list include Zolgensma, Spinraza, Evrysdi, Cerezyme, and Takhzyro. These medications are extremely costly and largely beyond the reach of most Indian patients.