RIPPLE EFFECT of Cancer Drug Duty Cuts

To ease the financial strain on patients, the Union Budget 2025-26 has removed Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on 36 life-saving drugs used for cancer, rare diseases, and chronic conditions. This move is expected to make essential treatments more affordable by lowering overall costs. However, the real question remains: will this truly reduce the financial burden on patients? As prices decrease, what effects will this have on pharmaceutical companies, particularly in terms of sales and competition? Most importantly, how will local players adapt to these changes? Let's find out.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

Cancer is a critical public health challenge in India, with cases projected to rise significantly. Approximately 100 out of every 1 lakh people are diagnosed with cancer. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the estimated number of cancer cases in 2023 was more than 14 lakh, making India the third-highest in terms of cancer incidence, after China and the USA.

Cancer also poses a high economic burden on patients. Several studies have highlighted this issue. An article published by Sage Journals examined drug pricing policies and cost containment measures in India, analysing spending and price variations of cancer drugs. The results showed that medicines accounted for the highest share of out-of-pocket (OOP) cancer medical expenditures in both the private and public sectors. Another significant study by the Tata Memorial Centre revealed that fewer than 3 per cent of cancer patients in India have access to promising new treatments. Additionally, a 2022 study published in JCO Global Oncology revealed that, despite most high-priority cancer medicines identified by Indian oncologists being generic chemotherapy agents that provide substantial survival improvements and are already included in the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML), access to these treatments remains severely limited due to major financial burdens faced by patients.