In times of turmoil, a healing touch: Cancer drugs, med foods get cheaper in Budget

Prices of 17 expensive cancer medicines, including Ribociclib and Venetoclax, and of seven rare disease drugs, like primary hyperoxaluria and cystinosis, are expected to dip after removal of basic customs duty in the Budget. This would lead to lowering of landed cost of these imported life-saving medicines and improve access to advanced treatments.

Customs duties on imported medicines for personal use and food for special medical use, have been removed. Duty on imported medicines typically ranges from 5% to 11%. Last year’s Budget exempted 36 life-saving drugs from basic customs duty.



Bhanu Prakash Kalmath, partner and healthcare industry leader, Grant Thornton Bharat said, “Removing basic customs duty on 17 high-cost cancer drugs (such as Ibrutinib, Ponatinib, Dabrafenib, Trametinib, Toripalimab, Ipilimumab) is a major relief for patients. Many of these therapies cost anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh per month (in India).’’

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Sharvil Patel, MD, Zydus Lifesciences, said: “Exempting 17 cancer drugs and seven rare disease drugs from customs duty will improve patient access. Budget 2026 has touched upon the important pillars of accessibility, affordability and patient-centricity that are an urgent need.”

The Budget brings some reassurance at a time when healthcare costs are rising and lifestyle-related illnesses are more common, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where access to specialised care remains limited, according to Dharminder Nagar, co-chair, Ficci health and services and MD, Paras Health.

Budget has also proposed strengthening of India’s drug regulatory and clinical research ecosystem and creation of a national network of 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites. This is aimed at aligning India’s approval processes with global standards and enabling faster, more predictable clearances through a dedicated scientific review cadre and domain experts.

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said: “With a Rs 10,000-crore commitment, expansion of NIPER institutions, creation of 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites and strengthening of CDSCO to global approval standards, the strategy reflects a deep understanding of what it takes to compete globally.’’

Budget has unveiled a Rs 1.1 lakh crore health budget, a 9% increase from the previous year, said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. To boost India’s biopharma manufacturing ecosystem, the Budget has also unveiled Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over next five years.

Sameer Sah, partner, Khaitan & Co said: “The Budget 2026–27 sets a strong policy foundation for India’s healthcare sector by aligning regulatory reform with capacity creation. The Biopharma SHAKTI programme, coupled with expansion of clinical trial sites, represents a decisive move towards global quality regulatory timelines. This signals regulatory predictability, something the industry has long sought’’.

Time-bound regulatory approvals and increase in clinical trials sites will have a huge positive impact on the R&D ecosystem, said Sujay Shetty, global health industries advisory leader, PwC India.

On customs duty exemption, Gopa Nair of The Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment said: “Rather than deploying available legal tools under the Patents Act, like compulsory license and stricter scrutiny of secondary patents and improving the regulatory framework, including streamlining approval pathway for quality assured generics and biosimilars, govt relies on basic customs duty exemption on selected drugs. This indirect measure does little to guarantee affordable access and allows states to sidestep its constitutional obligation to ensure affordability and accessibility of medicines.’’