Asia·India
India caps cancer drug mark-ups after a dying bank clerk's case reached the Supreme Court
NEW DELHI —
Depth
Dig five layers into this story — from what happened to the full picture.
L1What happened
Judges noted a drug supplied to hospitals at 2,700 rupees sold for 27,000. The pricing authority found average mark-ups of 170% on some cancer drugs, some over 700%.
L2Who’s affected
Radhakrishnan's monthly treatment was over 63,000 rupees (£500). India records about 1.56m new cancer cases a year. Health spending pushes about 55 million Indians a year below the poverty line (Public Health Foundation of India).
L3Why it’s quiet
Analysis · OVERLOOKED Indian health policy rarely enters U.S. news, and the change was a regulatory cap rather than a single dramatic event.
L4Deeper impact
Ayushman Bharat covers 500,000 rupees a year per family, the cost of one dose of Kadcyla; patients may need up to 14. Dr Ravi Kannan: some families "start but they don't come back for chemotherapy." Jyotsna Singh warns hospitals may raise other charges to offset the cap.
L5Full context
A 30% cap already applied to 42 drugs. The court asked why the cap shouldn't apply to all non-patented drugs, giving the government until Oct 27 to respond.
You’ve reached the bottom. Read the original reporting below.
Original reporting
This is an OVERLOOKED summary of the reporting above. Facts and figures come from the linked sources. Everything here is a fact unless it is labelled otherwise. Support this work.
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