A pack of leukaemia drug asciminib 60 (40 mg tablets), which used to cost ₹2,35,000 with GST, will become cheaper by ₹25,000, as per data from market research firm PharmaTrac. Obinutuzumab, a prescription medicine used in combination with chemotherapy, will see a reduction of over ₹40,000.
The cut in GST for life-saving drugs will definitely help lower the cost burden for patients, said Sheetal Sapale, vice-president, commercial, at PharmaTrac. “This is a welcome move as most of the drugs are under patent protection.”
GST on drugs for treating spinal muscular atrophy has been scrapped. Swiss company Roche’s Everysdi (risdiplam), which is administered based on the body weight of the patient, was priced at a flat ₹72 lakh per annum including 12% GST for patients weighing 20 kg or heavier. It will now be available at the base price, or ₹64.29 lakh. For babies with lower weight, this price would be less.
Novartis’ onasemnogene abeparvovec (ZolegenSMA or Genetherapy), also for treating spinal muscular atrophy, is priced at $1.7 million, or about ₹14.96 crore in India based on an exchange rate of ₹88 a dollar. Novartis recently received market authorisation in India for the drug and is working on finalising Indian pricing, which will now be free of the GST component.
“The price will drastically drop once it is finalised. This is expected to happen in the next couple of months,” said an expert on the condition of anonymity.The GST cut is expected to make healthcare more affordable. At least 41 drugs to treat critical conditions, many of which are patented and have no generic copies in India, will get cheaper. “Reduced MRP along with some discounts through patient support programmes or schemes will not just give some relief on the cost part, but will also help for onboarding patients from weaker sections of society,” said Sapale.
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