Ahead of India’s upcoming budget announcement, Biocon’s Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has called for the elimination of taxes on drugs used for cancer treatment and for managing chronic and rare diseases. Highlighting the financial strain on patients, she urged the government to make lifesaving therapies more affordable by removing taxes and reducing import duties on medical equipment.
Mazumdar Shaw emphasized that most expenses on medicines in India are paid out of pocket, with even diagnostic scans being costly. She argued that cancer drugs and medications for chronic conditions like diabetes should be tax-exempt, excluding cosmetic surgeries. Specifically, she suggested that any drug with a monthly treatment cost exceeding ₹5,000 ($60) should be exempt from taxes.
Despite previous tax relief in July, when the government waived customs duties on three cancer drugs and reduced taxes on others, the current 12% tax rate on chronic disease medications continues to be burdensome. Rajiv Singhal, General Secretary of the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists, added that in a price-sensitive market like India, this tax becomes a significant burden on patients, asserting that medicines should not be taxed as luxury items.
To further reduce the financial burden on patients, Mazumdar Shaw recommended cutting import duties on high-tech instruments, raw materials, and consumables used to develop life-saving precision medicines. She noted that India’s import tax on medical equipment can be as high as 36%, and reducing this would significantly benefit patients.
Additionally, Mazumdar Shaw discussed India’s pharmaceutical industry, which is poised to capitalize on the global trade tensions between the U.S. and China, especially as countries look to reduce reliance on China post-COVID-19. She indicated that India could gain from this shift, as countries increasingly look for alternatives to Chinese imports.
