The Union Chemicals Ministry is planning to finalize a Cancer Medicine Assistance Scheme in all major cancer hospitals of the country in next two months. The scheme calls for the distribution of cancer medicines at 50 per cent of the market price to the patients. BPL families, handicapped persons and senior citizens would be provided cancer medicines free under the scheme.

Informing this at a press conference, Ram Vilas Paswan, Union chemicals Minister, said the scheme would be implemented through public-private-participation.

The department of chemicals and petrochemicals has also gone ahead with the proposal to set up a national level Drug Bank Fund with the overcharged amount recovered by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The fund would receive budgetary support from the central government and contributions from the industry. The ministry informed that the private contributions would be exempted from income-tax.

The government is also working the modalities for setting up drug banks at the district level in all parts of the country. The drug banks would also be jointly supported by the government and the industry. The idea is to start the drug banks in select districts on a pilot basis by January 26, 2007.

Another initiative being undertaken by the government is to strengthen NPPA for more intensive monitoring of drug prices and a web based mechanism for easy accessibility of information and transparency. The proposed web site is to be developed with the help of Safety Action Group to provide information on comparative prices of all the packages and brands of each formulation. This is expected to make the consumer aware of the minimum and maximum prices of various brands of the same formulations.