New Delhi:
Somewhere in the files at the Kerala High Court lies a petition that has outlived the woman who filed it.
The woman had pleaded with the court in 2022, seeking an order on lowering the prices of two cancer medicines, which cost about Rs 1.5 lakh a month. Four years and 57 hearings later, she died recently without getting a verdict.
The case, however, is alive. Two people — Jyotsana Singh and KM Gopakumar have written a letter to the chief justice, requesting a hearing. The same letter has also been marked for President Droupadi Murmu and the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant.
“The one who started this fight is no more. This fact shows how costly a delay can be, especially when it comes to life-saving drugs,” it read.
Ribociclib, which costs Rs 78,468 per month, and Abemaciclib, costing Rs 47,752 to Rs 95,504 per month, are at the centre of the case. The woman had been suffering from a specific type of rapidly spreading breast cancer. She asked the government to enact a law that would allow these drugs to be manufactured in India at a lower price.
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