This woman needs funds for treatment

Maya Sarkar (name changed) was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in 2010. She was prescribed Glivec. A widow with an 8-year-old son, Maya relied on her father’s small pension to sustain family and pay her medical bills, reports Zehra Kazmi.

Maya Sarkar (name changed) was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in 2010. She was prescribed Glivec. A widow with an 8-year-old son, Maya relied on her father’s small pension to sustain family and pay her medical bills. She could only afford Glivec’s drastically cheaper generic versions. A year and a half later, however, she stopped responding to the drug. Her doctor prescribed dasatinib.

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While a generic version of the medicine, Natco’s Dasanat, cost R9,000 per month, the original drug Sprycel, manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) cost R1,65,000 per month. But Maya couldn’t find the Natco version. Natco had been locked in a bitter patent infringement battle with BMS since 2009; in 2012, it had to stop manufacture and sale on court orders.

“There’s no substitute for the drug. And buying Sprycel is out of the question for me. I have approached a lot of organisations, but none of them have enough funds to cough up such a big amount every month,” said Maya. Her treatment has now come to a standstill. She hopes either Cancer Patients Aid Association or Cancer Sahyog will intervene on her behalf.

Outside AIIMS’ crowded radiotherapy ward, only a few patients have heard of the SC judgment on Glivec. But most know what it is like to scrounge for money to fund treatment and medicines.