New Delhi: In a move that could be a trendsetter as far as pricing of medicines is concerned, Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Cipla has slashed prices of anti-cancer drugs by 76 percent. ‘Soranib', a popular drug used to treat brain, lung and kidney cancer, which used to cost $ 140 now costs only $ 35, Cipla said in a statement issued here. Other drugs like ‘Temoside' used to combat brain cancer, Gefticip, a lung cancer drug have also dropped by three fourths. “This initiative of price reduction is a humanitarian approach by Cipla to support cancer patients,” Cipla chairman and managing director Y K Hamied said. Apart from hospitalization, the drugs add to the burgeoning costs of treatment of cancer in the country. Cipla, is India's second largest pharmaceutical company and its decision to slash cancer drug prices, is expected to force other companies to rethink their pricing policies as far as cancer related drug prices are concerned, even as India reports nearly one million cases of cancer every year. The oncology drug market in India is pegged at $ 300 million.
