India needs new initiatives to tackle cancer care

Given the ability of Indian pharmaceutical companies to produce drugs at economical rates, the cost of HIV/AIDS treatment has fallen on a global scale to $400 per year from $12,000, according to a senior executive. Noting that a similar initiative was needed to tackle cancer, the executive said more cancer treatment units were needed in rural areas to fight the dreaded disease, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

Hailing the country's 'spectacular' contribution to global healthcare, India's Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said the cost of HIV/AIDS treatment has gone down globally due to the strength and dexterity of Indian firms.

He said India has always taken a 'bold and exemplary' stand against ‘blind patent’ protection that benefit global pharmaceutical giants and asserted that providing essential drugs and medicines at cost-effective prices was the government’s key focus.