Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30,000: Cancer immunotherapy gets cheaper, but will patients get the price benefit?
Reported by Economic Times Industry, not nibnow. We are not the publisher of this story, only the source is.
The price of cancer immunotherapy drug nivolumab has fallen significantly from over Rs 1 lakh to around Rs 30,000 per cycle. However, hospital stocking practices will ultimately determine whether patients actually receive these lower costs.
Cheaper nivolumab biosimilars are expanding access to cancer immunotherapy in India, with one Mumbai oncologist reporting a more than 50% rise in prescriptions over six months. Prices have fallen from over Rs 1 lakh to around Rs 30,000 per cycle, but hospital stocking practices could determine whether patients benefit from lower costs.
Biosimilars are highly similar versions of approved biological medicines that can offer more affordable treatment options once patents on original biologics expire. Cancer immunotherapy uses the body immune system to help fight cancer cells.
- •Whether hospitals and pharmacies update their stocking practices to pass the lower prices on to patients.
- •Further adoption rates of nivolumab biosimilars by oncologists across India.