Stung by WHO report, govt focuses on lowering cancer drugs, stents’ cost

NEW DELHI: Stung by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report that said the probability of people dying prematurely of leading non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was the highest in India among all SAARC nations, the government has decided to work on lowering the cost of anti-cancer drugs and cardiovascular stents.

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 20

Stung by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report that said the probability of people dying prematurely of leading non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was the highest in India among all SAARC nations, the government has decided to work on lowering the cost of anti-cancer drugs and cardiovascular stents.

Health Ministry sources said the government was evolving a scheme to “substantially” reduce the cost of cancer medicines as also life saving stents administered to patients of cardio vascular diseases. Modalities of the scheme are being worked out, with sources saying models of procurement of these products by the government were being actively examined.

Ruling out the regulation mode for controlling the prices of anti-cancer drugs and stents, the ministry officials said the government could purchase these products and supply these to the needy at a cheaper cost. The sources were not ready to divulge anything about the scheme yet except that the move was at advanced stages of finalisation.

The thinking comes after a WHO report this January said the probability of 30 to 70-year-olds dying of the four leading NCDs was 26 per cent in India — the highest for SAARC region. The four leading NCDs include cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory diseases. The corresponding rates of premature death from NCDs were: 18% in Bangladesh; 21% in Pakistan; 22% in Nepal; 18% in Sri Lanka, 21% in Bhutan and 16% in Maldives.

WHO’s stock taking exercise of NCD prevalence in 194 countries was part of its publication entitled, “Global status report on Non-Communicable Diseases 2014”, which urged governments to take bold decisions to meet global targets of reducing the NCDs burden and preventing the annual toll of 16 million people dying prematurely — before age 70 — from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes.