Intas Pharmaceuticals prices generic onco-drug at one-fifth of current cost

Intas Pharmaceuticals prices generic onco-drug at one-fifth of current cost

City-based Intas Pharmaceuticals has slashed cost of treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) in India with generic oncology drug Azadine.

Azadine has been priced at one-fifth of the innovator brand to make it accessible. US' Celgene sells the drug under brand name Vidaza.

In MDS, the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells and there are abnormal cells present, leading to leukaemia in advanced stages.

The Azacitidine molecule in the generic drug has USFDA approval since May 2004.

The company provides a ray of hope in a situation where most drugmakers take hardly any interest in researching for an affordable drug. This is because MDS is an 'orphan disease' affecting a minuscule percentage of the population.

In a large country like India, though, the numbers affected by the syndrome are large. Currently, treatment cost of imported Azacitidine is Rs 15-18 lakh. Expenses in case of treatment with other options — conventional agents or transplants — may be Rs 2-15 lakh.

Azadine is manufactured at Intas SEZ facility in Ahmedabad. Intas is the 12th largest pharmaceutical company in the domestic market according to IMS Health India, Secondary Stockist Audit (SSA), April 2014 MAT.

According to the company, it is estimated that 4-5 people per 1,00,000 suffer from MDS/AML. Studies also suggest that MDS patients in India get affected by the disease at a younger age and also tend to have a "higher risk".