Expanding Access: Ensuring Affordable Cancer Care for All

A Parliamentary panel highlights the need for expanding price control on cancer drugs, urging broader regulatory measures. Despite advancements, many oncology medications remain overpriced, limiting access. The panel calls for enhanced domestic research, streamlined regulations, targeted prevention strategies, and improved cancer care infrastructure in India.

A Parliamentary panel has highlighted significant gaps in the current price control mechanisms for cancer drugs, urging broader regulatory measures to ensure affordability and accessibility. The Committee on Petitions of the Rajya Sabha, led by Narain Dass Gupta, emphasized the need for regular market assessments to monitor drug prices and trends.

Despite recent regulatory advancements, many oncology medications remain outside the scope of statutory price control, leading to unaffordable costs for patients. The panel recommended enhancing the scope of the Drugs Prices Control Order and suggested a robust oversight mechanism for evaluating regulatory effectiveness and identifying systemic gaps.

The report also stressed the importance of advancing domestic research, integrating private sector efforts, and streamlining regulatory pathways to boost indigenous development of oncology therapies. It advocated for preventive strategies, health literacy programs, and better cancer care infrastructure to create a patient-centric, data-driven ecosystem.