Glenmark pharma slashes breast cancer drug price by 70%

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Health

Context: The price of breast cancer drug Trastuzumab is reduced to ₹15,749 for a 440 mg vial from ₹54,000.

Details:

The drug is marketed in India as ‘Trumab’.
Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody used to treat the aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in India, accounting for 13.5 per cent of all cases, with an estimated 1.78 lakh new cases diagnosed each year.
The incidence of HER2-positive breast cancer in the Indian population is 26-50 per cent.

HER2-positive:

All breast cells have and are tested for an excess of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, commonly referred to as HER2.
HER2 proteins are receptors that control how the cells grow and divide.
When breast tissue has extra HER2 receptors (overexpression), breast cells can multiply too quickly.
The growth may become uncontrolled and lead to a tumour.
Breast cancer identified as HER2-positive tends to grow faster, spread and come back (recur).
This protein helps cancer cells grow and spread.
Trastuzumab works by binding to the HER2 protein and blocking its activity.