A Healing Touch in Troubled Times: Cancer Drugs, Medicinal Foods Get Cheaper in Budget – Times of India

Anand Kumar
By
Anand Kumar
Anand Kumar
Senior Journalist Editor
Anand Kumar is a Senior Journalist at Global India Broadcast News, covering national affairs, education, and digital media. He focuses on fact-based reporting and in-depth analysis...
- Senior Journalist Editor
5 Min Read

Budget 2026 sets long-term direction for India's economic growth: Kidwai

Eliminate basic customs duties of 5-11% to reduce prices of 17 expensive treatments

Prices of 17 expensive cancer drugs, including Ribociclib and Venetoclax, and seven drugs for rare diseases, such as primary hyperoxaluria and cystinosis, are expected to fall after basic excise duties were removed in the Budget.

This would reduce the overall cost of these imported life-saving medicines and improve access to advanced treatments.– Cancellation of customs duties on imported medicines for personal use and food for private medical use. Customs duties on imported medicines usually range from 5% to 11%. Last year’s budget exempted 36 life-saving medicines from basic customs duties.

Budget 2026 sets long-term direction for India’s economic growth: Kidwai

Bhanu Prakash Kalmath, Partner and Healthcare Sector Head, Grant Thornton Bharat, said: “The elimination of essential excise duty on 17 high-cost cancer drugs (such as ibrutinib, ponatinib, dabrafenib, trametinib, toripalimab and ipilimumab) is a huge relief for patients.

Many of these treatments cost between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh per month (in India).”Read also: Delhi gasps as money allocated to combat pollution decreasesSharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences, said: “Exempting 17 cancer drugs and seven rare disease drugs from customs duty will improve patient access. Budget 2026 has addressed the important pillars of accessibility, affordability and patient centricity which are an urgent need.”The budget brings some reassurance at a time when healthcare costs are rising and lifestyle-related diseases are becoming more common, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where access to specialized care remains limited, according to Dharminder Nagar, co-president, health and services at Vichy and MD, Paras Health.

The budget also proposed to strengthen India’s regulatory and clinical research ecosystem and create a national network of 1,000 approved clinical trial sites. This aims to align approval processes in India with global standards and enable faster and more predictable clearance processes through a cadre of dedicated scientific reviewers and industry experts.“With a Rs 10,000-crore commitment, expansion of NIPER institutions, establishment of 1,000 approved clinical trial sites and CDSCO enhancing global approval standards, the strategy reflects a deep understanding of what it takes to compete globally,” Biocon Chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, said the budget revealed a health budget of Rs 1.1 lakh crore, an increase of 9% over the previous year. To strengthen the biopharma manufacturing ecosystem in India, the Budget also unveiled Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy to Advance Healthcare through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years.“Budget 2026-27 lays a strong policy foundation for India’s healthcare sector by aligning regulatory reform with capacity creation,” said Sameer Sah, partner at Khaitan & Co.

The Biopharma SHAKTI programme, combined with the expansion of clinical trial sites, represents a critical step towards global quality regulatory timelines. This indicates regulatory predictability, something the industry has long sought.Time-bound regulatory approvals and increased clinical trial sites will have a significant positive impact on the R&D ecosystem, said Sujay Shetty, global health industry advisory leader at PwC India.Regarding duty exemption, Gopa Nair of the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Therapeutics said: “Instead of deploying legal tools available under patent law, such as compulsory licensing, more stringent scrutiny of secondary patents and improving the regulatory framework, including simplifying the approval pathway for quality-assured generic medicines and biopharmaceuticals, the government is relying on basic customs duty exemption on selected medicines.

This indirect measure does little to ensure affordable access and allows states to evade their constitutional obligation to ensure affordability and accessibility of medicines.

Share This Article
Anand Kumar
Senior Journalist Editor
Follow:
Anand Kumar is a Senior Journalist at Global India Broadcast News, covering national affairs, education, and digital media. He focuses on fact-based reporting and in-depth analysis of current events.
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *