First Anti-Cancer Drug From India Enters Chinese Markets
Beijing, Oct 15 (TNA) In a giant leap for the Indian pharmaceutical industry, agreements between local Chinese companies and India’s Dr. Reddy’s Lab were inked this weekfor the sale of Abirateron, the first anti-cancer drug from India in China.
India’s Ambassador Vikram Misri announced this in a tweet. There is a huge demand for cancer drugs in China as the mortality rate of cancer in China is high. As per Chinese Medical Journal, China accounted for 24% of newly diagnosed cases and 30% of the cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2020.
In 2018, a Chinese comedy-drama “Dying to Survive” highlighting the need for affordable medicines in China became very popular among the masses. It touched upon the issue of anti-cancer drugs from India.
Beijing and New Delhi had agreed in 2018 to slash tariffs on the import of Indian medicines, including anti-cancer drugs, which have a substantial demand in China due to cheaper pricing than their Western variants. It has been a long-standing demand of India for granting greater access to drugs from India to Chinese markets.
Ambassador Misri has been raising it at various forums in China. Due to incessant efforts by the Indian Embassy in Beijing and the Government of India, there have been some approvals for Indian pharma companies to sell their drugs in China but this approval for anti-cancer drugs from India is a huge breakthrough.