Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the complete removal of customs duties on three cancer medications.
The Centre proposed reducing the customs duty on Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, and Durvalumab from 10 percent to zero, interestingly all the three drugs are manufactured by the same company.
All three cancer related drugs are produced by UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which also developed a COVID-19 vaccine.
Recently, AstraZeneca was in the news after it admitted in a UK court that their vaccine could cause the rare side effect TTS, leading to blood clots and increasing the risk of heart attack and brain hemorrhage.
Shashi Tharoor mentioned the decision to remove import duties on these drugs during his speech in the Indian Parliament on Tuesday, questioning why other cancer-related drugs were not made cheaper and why the government appeared to favor a single company.
“To provide relief to cancer patients, I propose to fully exempt three more medicines from customs duties,” Nirmala Sitharaman stated while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
“The government’s decision to fully remove customs duties on additional medicines is a significant relief, easing the financial burden on cancer patients. This announcement addresses growing concerns over healthcare affordability and access to essential medications. We welcome this move, recognizing its potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce financial stress for families battling cancer. This decision demonstrates the government’s commitment to prioritizing healthcare accessibility and affordability nationwide,” said Dr. Abhishek Shankar, Professor of Oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.
The finance minister has also reduced customs duties on x-ray tubes and digital detectors. Over the past three years, India’s imports of medical devices have consistently exceeded ₹61,000 crore, increasing by 13% to ₹69,000 crore this year.
X-ray tools fall under the category of medical devices, a sunrise sector in India. In 2022, the market size of the medical devices sector in India was estimated at $11 billion, with the country’s share in the global medical device market estimated at 1.5%.