The reduction in the prices of three key cancer drugs after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced removing customs duty on them comes a relief for many who are undergoing the treatment.
The customs duty on Trastuzumab deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab drugs was around 10%. But the decision to reduce their prices will make these drugs more accessible to patients and reduce overall cost of cancer therapies.
Let us understand what are the uses of these drugs in cancer treatment.
These drugs target only the cancer cells, leaving normal ones unaffected. They target specific genetic changes in cancer cells that help them grow, divide and spread.
Unlike the traditional cancer drugs used in chemotherapy that target all cells, these three drugs have fewer side-effects.
About These Three Drugs
Trastuzumab deruxtecan: The drug is used in the targeted therapy for breast cancer. It attaches to the HER2 receptor (a protein that appears on the surface of some breast cancer cells) and can stop the cancer cells from growing. It is developed by Daiichi Sankyo and marketed by Astrazeneca as Enhertu, trastuzumab deruxtecan. It is a second-line treatment, which is used when traditional therapies have failed. The drug was approved in 2019 to treat breast cancer. In 2021, it was used for targeting certain types of gastrointestinal cancers. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug to be “tissue agnostic”, that is, it can be used for any cancer with HER-2 receptor regardless of where it originates. The drug costs Rs 1.6 lakh per vial.
Osimertinib: The drug is used to treat lung cancer, and is known as a cancer growth blocker. It blocks protein called epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) or cancer cells that encourage the cancer to grow. Osimertinib can help slow down or stop the growth of an advanced cancer for a time. After surgery, osimertinib might help stop the cancer from coming back. Marketed as Tagrisso by AstraZeneca, the drug targets mutation, which occurs in 25-30% of lung cancers in women who are non-smokers, according to Dr Ankur Bahl, senior director of medical oncology at Fortis Gurugam, as quoted by The Indian Express. The drug costs Rs 1.5 lakh per strip of 10 pills, which needs to be taken every day.
Durvalumab: It is FDA-approved immunotherapy drug for cancer developed by AstraZeneca. It is used in treatment of lung cancers, biliary tract cancer, bladder cancer and liver cancer. Durvalumab stimulates the body’s immune system. It seeks out cancer cells by looking for the PD-L1 protein and attaching to it. The immune system then recognises the marked cells and kills them. The drug costs around Rs 1.5 lakh for every 10 ml vial, and is sold as Imfinzi.
How Customs Duty Cut Will Impact Treatment
The cost cut will help cancer patients immensely to reduce the financial burden on cancer patients.
“All imported life-saving drugs are costly and customs duty exemption is a welcome step. Deruxtecan drug is a breast cancer drug and can be used in all cancers with HER2 positive gene. Osimertinib and Durvalumab are used for lung cancer treatment. However, we use Durvalumab for biliary tract cancers. All these cancers are quite common in India and detected in late stages in our country,” said Dr Shyam Aggarwal, chairman, medical oncology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, as quoted by Livemint.
Dr Abhishek Shankar, oncologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, also welcomed the “positive move from the government”. “These drugs cost up to lakhs, and even a small percentage decrease will make a significant difference to patients and their families. They are targeted therapies that offer much better results than traditional therapies,” Dr Shankar quoted The Indian Express as saying.
Cancer Cases In India
India reports 14.13 lakh new cancer patients every year, with annual reported mortality of 9.16 lakhs, as per data by GLOBOCAN 2022 by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization.
An estimated 14.6 lakh new cancer cases were detected in 2022, up from 14.2 lakh in 2021, and 13.9 lakh in 2020, according to the National Cancer Registry data.
The number of deaths due to cancer increased to an estimated 8.08 lakh in 2022, up from 7.9 lakh in 2021, and 7.7 lakh in 2020.
In India, around 2 lakh women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Breast cancer can be caused by poor lifestyle such as alcohol and smoking, inadequate breast feeding make hormonal imbalances in women.
Among men, the most common cancers were of the lung, mouth, prostate, tongue, and stomach; for women, they were breast, cervix, ovary, uterus, and lung.
Certain cancers are also affecting younger people sooner than in the US, UK, and China. The median age for lung cancer, for example, is 59 in India, but 70 in the US, 68 in China, and 75 in the UK, according to the new report.