Erubulin, breast cancer drug is a landmark medicine and very effective in cancer treatment but remained out of reach so far for underprivileged patients in our country. This medicine soon to become affordable in the coming months because of the achievement made by the
Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). They have developed the technology, which will help pharma companies to develop a generic version of the top anti-breast cancer drug Erubulin. And companies started developing that drug and launch it in the Indian market in the coming months of this year.
Erubulin drug approved its effectiveness in the 50 countries worldwide and help a number of patients for extending the life struggling with advanced and aggressive breast cancer for a long time. But the price of Erubulin is not affordable so, it was out of reach of women hailing from families with limited financial resources.
IICT shared their technology with a pharmaceutical company and it will launch the generic Erubulin drug in the coming months of this year. The drug launch announcement is expected to be timed with the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the research institute to be held around August this year.
Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Director of the team of researchers from IICT, a senior technologist well-known for his research oriented towards drug development, achieved success in finding a way to synthesize key fragments of Erubulin, which will eventually pave the way to manufacture the drug on a bigger and cost-effective scale. The team identified a private pharmaceutical company, which will be able to manufacture the generic form of an anti-cancer drug without attracting the regulations under the stringent International Patent laws.
An anti-cancer drug is prohibitively expensive in India due to high import duty, according to senior oncologists. In India, a single vial of Erubulin is retailed in between ₹30,000 and ₹40,000 and depending on the condition and body weight of cancer, oncologists advice the number of cycles for each patient.
For three to four cycles of chemotherapy with Erubulin drug, patients end up spending anywhere between ₹5 lakh and ₹5.5 lakh. Due to its high cost, a large number of breast cancer patients in India are unable to afford the drug of choice.
Dr. C Sairam, senior oncologist, MNJ Cancer Hospital said that Erubulin is an internationally approved drug of choice for breast cancer patients. A generic version of the drug will bring down the cost drastically. This will not only make the drug affordable but also will extend the life of the women.
