Listen to Story The staggering cost of life-saving drugs in India often means that patients and their families face crippling financial burdens. A 24-year-old patient of a rare genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) filed a petition about how the price of the drug Risdiplam can actually cost Rs 3,000 if it is produced locally. Risdiplam is a self-administered liquid medicine taken orally by adult SMA patients.
The petition featured an elaborate cost analysis of Risdiplam by Dr Melissa Barber from Yale University. Dr Barber, who has worked as a consultant on pharmaceutical issues for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has been developing and refining methods for estimating the cost of production of medicines since 2016. At the request of the petitioner, Dr Barber analysed the cost of production of Risdiplam and, according to her calculation, this drug can be priced as low as Rs Rs 3,024 per year.
In an interview with IndiaToday.in, Dr Barber said that the low-cost estimate accounts for India's generic drug landscape, where manufacturers typically operate on a 10% profit margin compared to the inflated prices set by patent holders. Locally producing Risdiplam could drastically reduce its price for patients, as India's pharmaceutical industry has shown the capacity to produce affordable alternatives to costly drugs.
At the request of the petitioner, Dr Barber analysed the cost of production of Risdiplam and, according t.