Indian cheap cancer drugs lure Chinese patients

Anti-cancer drugs from India are becoming popular with Chinese patients. According to the suppliers in India, consumption of Indian drugs in China has gone up by 20 percent compared to previous years. This became possible when thre drugs became cheaper after a Supreme Court ruling in 2013.

The sale of anti-cancer drugs in the Indian drug stores has increased in the last one year. Treatment for cancer has become affordable, as these drugs are being produced within the country. This has led to a huge demand in the neighbouring countries as well.

"They were off patent law and they could produce them reproduce them invent them and therefore international patent was rejected and so the drugs became cheaper and now India becomes the hub for all the neighbouring countries who are poorer than India to import." K K Agarwal, secretary general of Indian Medical Association, said.

The demand for oral drugs from countries like China and Bangladesh has also gone up apart from the domestic demand. The drugs for blood, lung, liver and kidney cancer are available for much cheaper prices in India, compared to neigbours, while they're sourced to HK ,Singapore, all those are sourced in line.

"The illegal things come from our neighbours like China and Bangladesh where these drugs are not freely available so the patients they try to source these drugs from India illegally." Tarun Garg, supplier in Delhi, said.

The local version of the medicines is 15 to 20 times less than the patented ones. The court ruling of 2013 made life saving drugs under patents accessible to the people. The patients demand that more and more drugs be made available to them at minimal costs.