Medicines for four rare diseases become cheaper due to domestic production
reliance on expensive imported formulations, Union Health Ministry officials said on Friday. The slashing of prices comes as the ministry has prioritised action related to 13 rare diseases along with sickle cell anaemia.
Drugs for four of these diseases -Tyrosinemia Type 1, Gaucher's Disease, Wilson's Disease and Dravet-Lennox Gastaut Syndrome — along with sickle cell Anemia have been approved and are being manufactured indigenously.
Four more drugs for three diseases — Tablet Sapropterin for Phenylketonuria, tab Sodium Phenyl Butyrate and tablet Carglumic Acid for Hyperammonemia and Capsule Miglustat for Gaucher's disease — are under process for approval and are likely to be available by April 2024, official sources said.
With these drugs being manufactured indigenously, the annual cost of Nitisinone capsules, used in the treatment of Tyrosinemia Type 1, will be reduced to one-hundredth of the price of the imported medicine.
«For example, while the annual cost of the imported capsule comes at Rs 2.2 crore, the domestically manufactured capsules will now be available for just Rs 2.5 lakh,» a source said.
Similarly, while the cost of the imported Eliglustat capsules comes at Rs 1.8-3.6 crore per annum, the domestically manufactured capsules will now be available for just Rs 3-6 lakh per annum, the source said.
The cost of the imported Trientine capsules used in the treatment of Wilson's disease comes to Rs 2.2 crore per annum but with the drug being manufactured indigenously, it will be available for Rs 2.2 lakh.
