As multinationals look to success of cancer drugs in India, price cuts are on the agenda

3 December 2019

Cancer patients in India have lauded the approval bagged by Roche (ROG: SIX) from the Indian drug regulatory authority for Tecentriq (atezolizumab), a new treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). The drug was launched in India late last month, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

As drugmakers including AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) and Roche agree to slash prices of some of their newest offerings in China by an average of 61%, with the Chinese government expanding the number of treatments covered under national insurance, the Indian government is said to be keeping close tabs on the paring of prices by the multinationals.

Currently three drugs are available in India – pembrolizumab (Keytruda), nivolumab (Opdivo, Opdyta) and atezolizumab - that are approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for stage-4 lung cancer patients.

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