Key Points
New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry Friday announced that the first four made-in-India drugs for rare diseases, also called orphan diseases, which will bring down costs of the medicines by up to hundred-fold, have been launched in the country this year...
As part of the National Policy on Rare Disease, an initiative in collaboration with government agencies and drugmakers had been started last year and 13 priority rare diseases, along with sickle cell anemia, had been identified for which India made drugs were to be developed, a senior ministry official said at a press briefing...
The drugs that are being launched as part of the initiative, said the official, are going to be the game-changer and will bring upon a paradigm shift in the rare disease treatment landscape in the country and other low income nations...
In addition, for sickle cell disease for whose elimination the Union government had launched a national programme this year an Indian generic drugmaker, Akums pharma, has developed an oral suspension form of the drug Hydroxyurea, used in treating the condition...
The imported version for the drug used to treat the disease costs Rs 1.8 to Rs 2.1 crore per annum but the generic versions launched by Laurus Labs and MSN Pharma will bring down the cost to Rs 2.2 lakh per annum...
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