Thailand to start producing all types of cancer drugs soon

By The Nation

 

 

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with PTT to build a plant that can produce all types of cancer drugs, so Thai patients have easier access to medication at less than half the price.

 

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said cancer was one of the major chronic diseases in Thailand and the top cause for death over the past two decades. More than 80,000 Thais die from cancer every year, and treatment for this disease is very high.

 

Producing drugs locally will cut the price by more than 50 per cent and also reduce the burden of importing drugs, which costs more than Bt21 billion yearly.

 

Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said promoting research and production of drugs is in line with the national development goal of a “biological, circular, green economy”.

 

Having a comprehensive medical industry will also play a key role in making Thailand a centre for better health and life sciences, he said.

 

The plant will be located in Rayong’s Wanarom Industrial Estate and its construction is expected to cost Bt2.5 billion. Building is expected to begin in 2022, and will take about 14 months to complete.

 

GPO director-general Dr Witoon Danwiboon said Thailand currently has to import all cancer-related drugs. However, he said, the institute has launched a cancer drug development program and is receiving technology transfer from leading drug manufacturers.

 

“This factory will have the capacity to produce 30 million units of chemotherapy drugs and 31 million units of biological drugs per year, with a focus on patents that will expire first. Once there is enough for domestic use, we can boost our production capacity for export. This will make cancer drugs cheaper in the country and will also help push for them to be included in the national list of most-needed medications,” he said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30395127

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-25

 

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Will they be Originals or Copies? 

15 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Will they be Originals or Copies? 

Looks like they are entering into the market for generics.

 

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

This factory will have the capacity to produce 30 million units of chemotherapy drugs and 31 million units of biological drugs per year, with a focus on patents that will expire first.

 

I am amazed that the country with it's top ranked education and world class universities haven't been leading the world in the production of cancer medication for many years

 

Ooops, Thailand you say!  sorry forget my last...

 

Footnote: Thailand is perfectly adequate for copying the medical innovation's of academic work carried out at great expense by the worlds best scientists at the cutting edge of medicine, they are also good at making knock off Louis Vuitton handbags!!

They need to do something the prices are astronomical in the International hospitals who would benefit the hospitals or the patients? Do you think the hospitals would charge accordingly, I dont just another way to screw the system.

Cancer treatment in Thailand will send you bankrupt   

1 minute ago, ChipButty said:

They need to do something the prices are astronomical in the International hospitals who would benefit the hospitals or the patients? Do you think the hospitals would charge accordingly, I dont just another way to screw the system.

Cancer treatment in Thailand will send you bankrupt   

It makes no difference if it costs B10 to make they will still flog it to the sick and desperate for B10,000

 

We are speaking of creatures with no morality here their only concern is personal enrichment, essentially they are parasites but they control these aspects of Thai society...

16 minutes ago, mark131v said:

It makes no difference if it costs B10 to make they will still flog it to the sick and desperate for B10,000

 

We are speaking of creatures with no morality here their only concern is personal enrichment, essentially they are parasites but they control these aspects of Thai society...

That was my point, Chemotherapy starts at 100,000 Baht in the International hospitals

55 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

They need to do something the prices are astronomical in the International hospitals who would benefit the hospitals or the patients? Do you think the hospitals would charge accordingly, I dont just another way to screw the system.

Cancer treatment in Thailand will send you bankrupt   

A friend went through a course of chemotherapy for cancer at Bumrungrad Hospital at the beginning of this year...it didn't bankrupt him.

I'm feeling better already knowing that if I get cancer in the future my treatment will be cheaper.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai patients have easier access to medication at less than half the price.

I am fortunate that in my country, I get my cancer drugs for free! ???? 

Wonderful news and all thanks to the incredible Thai people that will make this impossible.

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

I'm feeling better already knowing that if I get cancer in the future my treatment will be cheaper.

Who said your getting it cheaper?

Im surprised 7/11 haven't put in a bid

This might make the students happy as it could likely eliminate the cancer in government. But on a serious note, cancer is a hard one to have and a hard one to see a loved one die from it. My mom was an ugly mess at the end that just wrenched my heart.. Good luck if Mr. Xenophobic can make some progress. 

Edited September 25, 20205 yr by holy cow cm

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand to start producing all types of cancer drugs soon

i'm sure they wiil. And like everything else in Thailand,  could you even trust them.

16 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand to start producing all types of cancer drugs soon

The question is "Will any of them work" copies rarely do for very long ........LOL

14 hours ago, PatOngo said:

I am fortunate that in my country, I get my cancer drugs for free! ???? 

There is no such thing as free anything

6 minutes ago, toolpush said:

There is no such thing as free anything

You just keep pushing your tool!

 

 

Edited September 26, 20205 yr by PatOngo

18 hours ago, webfact said:

so Thai patients have easier access to medication at less than half the price.

it thought it was all free & stuff for thais

Obviously pre-covid a friend, sadly gone now, required a course of injections every few months. He bought a return to uk here and when he got to uk he threw the return away and started buying return tickets in uk. His injections were free in uk and by the second flight was saving on flight costs as well.

15 hours ago, PatOngo said:

I am fortunate that in my country, I get my cancer drugs for free! ???? 

is that the country that takes half of your salary at the base

 

and add 21 percent VAT on everything

 

so you give about 70 percent of your salary to taxes ?

If producing these drugs locally really can cut the price in half, as stated, this is something to applaud, not to ridicule.

 

There is unfortunately a big demand for 'cancer drugs' that are used to treat not only cancer but also autoimmune diseases like lupus which is very prevalent in Thailand. Treatment periods can be measured in years and the cumulative costs are prohibitive for many sufferers.

18 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Will they be Originals or Copies? 

He said : Patent-free generica first. 

23 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

is that the country that takes half of your salary at the base

 

and add 21 percent VAT on everything

 

so you give about 70 percent of your salary to taxes ?

No, it's the country that pays me a decent pension!

18 hours ago, webfact said:

with a focus on patents that will expire first.

On first reading I mistook PATENTS for PATIENTS. Quite a difference in meaning.

13 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

No, it's the country that pays me a decent pension!

The tax-payers are paying for your pension.

Governments don't have any money of their own.

 

1 minute ago, donnacha said:

The tax-payers are paying for your pension.

Governments don't have any money of their own.

 

That's nice of them, is'nt it!

17 hours ago, ChipButty said:

That was my point, Chemotherapy starts at 100,000 Baht in the International hospitals

Price of cancer brand drugs can be extremely high.  Below is what I paid in January this year and this is not the most expensive treatment drug.  Was designed to be one pill (or more) for remainder of life to hopefully slow or prevent new tumors.  As it made me feel death would be welcome and could observe the internal bleeding is was causing (have stoma) only took for about 30 days.  

 

Lenvima 10mg     40 pills     113,720 baht     20 pills free

 

So almost 2,000 baht a day for a little bitty pill that may or may not help and may or may not cause a lot of side effects.  And this is a fraction of the US price (over 18,000 baht each) - and full treatment would be a much higher level of 24mg per day.

27 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

No, it's the country that pays me a decent pension!

A bit off topic, but in West Germany pension funds are in fact workers' closed insurances where the employee pays half and the employer pays the other half. It's meant to be for individuals, not for families. 

That's Bismarck's contract with the Social Democrats in Germany, and it's the most stable institution that Germany ever had. It even survived two world wars staged by Germany. 

Guess Germany exported this model all over the EU. 

Edited September 26, 20205 yr by micmichd

I wonder if A-nut-in would specify how many people die each year from lung cancers caused by poor air quality - nothing is done to alleviate mass crop-burning and/or traffic congestion.